Talk about biting the hand that feeds..Norway’s sovereign wealth fund — the world’s largest — is set to support climate resolutions at the shareholders meetings of Exxon and Chevron even as its state oil company expands oil and gas exploration in what climate activists describe as giving “the middle finger” to the Paris Accord..Government Pension Fund Global — the Norwegian equivalent of the CPP — told London’s Financial Times, it will support resolutions to introduce Scope 3 emissions targets at AGMs in Irving, TX and San Ramon, CA next week..It comes even as the Norwegian energy ministry announced this month it would step up oil exploration in the Barents Sea to improve Europe’s energy security in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Last year the country overtook Russia to become the EUs largest supplier of oil and gas..In statements on the Norwegian government website, in Norwegian, Energy Minister Terje Aasland reportedly said the industry should “leave no stone unturned” as per a translation from Bloomberg.. Feds to approve massive offshore drilling in the eastCourtesy of Equinor .Norway’s state oil company, Equinor, is one of the largest in the world and is active in Canada’s offshore near Newfoundland..But on Friday it was British oil major BP taking credit for a significant discovery in the Norwegian North Sea with the announcement that its Yggdrasil exploration well tapped as much as a billion barrels from a previous estimate of 650 million barrels. Production is expected to begin in 2027..Environmental groups in the country — including Friends of the Earth Norway, WWF-Norway and Greenpeace Norway — told CNBC it's the equivalent of “a middle finger to the Paris Agreement.” It wasn’t clear if that was a literal translation..“Oil drilling in the Arctic is like pouring gasoline on a fire,” Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway, told CNBC via email..“Both Norway and the oil corporations need to stop cynically exploiting Russia’s war in Ukraine,” Pleym said. .“The aggressive and greedy oil policy of Norway do not only consolidate Oslo’s position as a top energy supplier to Europe, it locks a whole continent into future dependency on fossil fuels. The alternative to oil and gas is not more oil and gas, it is more energy efficiency and renewable energy.”.Norway’s fund — which has been compared to the Alberta Heritage Fund — has more than $1.19 trillion in assets, or the equivalent of $250,000 for each citizen, and holds about 1.4% of all the world’s publicly listed companies.
