Press release: Fossil investments by pension funds aggravate economic blow
The value of ABP's pension fund investments in fossil fuel companies has fallen by 44% from end of last year to its lowest point on March 16 this year, while the value of the rest of the portfolio decreased by 26%. This impact can be seen in simulations based on the publicly available equity portfolios of Dutch pension funds ABP and Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW), carried out by research agency Profundo on behalf of Both ENDS. The simulations show that the risks of investing in the fossil fuel sector are increasing.
Less recovery in fossil fuel sector
The market recovered partially, but on April 27, 2020 the value of ABP's fossil fuel shares was still 32% below the level at the end of 2019, while the value of ABP's shares in the rest of the portfolio was only 11% lower. A similar trend can be seen for the healthcare workers' PFZW pension fund. "This huge decline is a terrible loss for pension funds and participants," says Cindy Coltman of Both ENDS, "and investments in the fossil fuel sector are even more risky than the rest of the portfolio. It is worrying that pension funds nevertheless still invest in fossil energy. ”
Fossil investments exposed to losing value due to climate risk
60 to 80% of fossil reserves must remain in the ground in order to comply with the Paris climate agreement to limit the global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5 ° C. Investments in fossil fuel energy and the infrastructure to be built around it will therefore increasingly decrease in value. They could become 'stranded assets' and thus threaten the pensions. Investing in this sector was already a risky business and the Covid-19 pandemic has given this development a significant boost.
Coltman: “You can see this crisis as a dress rehearsal for the climate crisis. Financial shocks and associated human suffering will become increasingly common if we do not phase out fossil fuel use quickly and keep global warming below 1.5 ° C. The climate crisis is only getting worse and people in the Southern Hemisphere in particular are already suffering daily from its consequences. ”
Pensions shrinking
Previous studies by Both ENDS in collaboration with Fossielvrij NL, Urgewald and Greenpeace Netherlands already showed that despite public pressure and despite the financial and climate risks, ABP's investments in fossil fuel companies amounted to at least 15 to 16 billion euros per year in the past four years. The increasingly lower fossil energy prices are therefore severely impacting the pension fund.
Dutch pension funds should phase out their investments in coal, oil and gas companies as soon as possible. As part of the international DivestInvest movement, Both ENDS has been calling upon ABP and other Dutch pension funds to take the big step towards long-term investments in sustainable energy. More and more pension participants also want their pension fund to invest more sustainably. For climate reasons, but also because they see that investments in fossil energy cause their pension to shrink right before their eyes.
For press / more information:
Overzicht beursgenoteerde beleggingen van ABP in Q4 2019
Overzicht beursgenoteerde beleggingen van PFZW op 31 december 2019
For more information
Read more about this subject
-
Dossier /
Making pension funds more sustainable
Pension funds have a lot of influence because of their enormous assets. Both ENDS therefore wants pension funds such as the Dutch ABP to withdraw their investments from the fossil industry and to invest sustainably instead.
-
News / 2 februari 2020
How to become a fossil-free investor
The world has to stop using fossil fuels, but investment in the sector continues unabated. Investors of all kinds, including banks, insurance companies and pension funds, are hesitant about making the change to sustainable energy and are not sure where to start. In the autumn of 2019, together with the DivestInvest Network and Sustainable Energy (Denmark), Both ENDS published a report entitled ‘Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Businesses’. The report describes five criteria to test whether companies in the fossil sector are actively taking steps to wind down their fossil activities. The criteria are helping investors to choose investments that are in line with the Paris goal of restricting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We spoke to Lars Jensen, Senior Analyst at Sustainable Energy and lead author of the report.
-
Publication / 23 oktober 2019
-
Publication / 14 mei 2017
-
Publication / 9 mei 2018
-
Publication / 9 mei 2018
-
Publication / 14 mei 2017
-
Press release / 24 oktober 2019
Press Release: These five criteria help investors go green
Press release 24 October 2019
Starting today, investors can use five criteria to test whether companies in the fossil sector are actively working on phasing out their fossil activities. Too many investors still seem hesitant to switch to a profitable future of sustainable energy and these criteria should help them do this. The organisations DivestInvest Network, Sustainable Energy (Denmark) and Both ENDS (the Netherlands) publish the report "Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Businesses" today, which describes these five criteria. The criteria aim to help investors choose investments that are in line with the Paris goal "stay below 1.5 degrees Celsius warming." The recommendations are presented at the World Pension Summit deliberately, because pension fund investors in particular can take more responsibility in this.
-
News / 1 mei 2019
ABP still on collision course with Paris climate goals
Amsterdam 1 May 2019 - Dutch pension fund ABP's 'sustainable and responsible investment report’ today suggests that the pension fund is well on track in terms attaining its internal sustainability goals. However, an analysis by Fossielvrij NL, Both ENDS, urgewald and Greenpeace shows that ABP remains on a collision course with the Paris climate goals. At the end of 2018, ABP still invested 16.5 billion Euros in the fossil industry. ABP's investments in the world's 44 largest climate polluters even increased between 2016 and 2018.
-
Press release / 14 mei 2017
Criticism of Dutch pension fund ABP’s investments in coal, oil and gas
The Dutch pension fund, ABP, invested about two billion euros more in the fossil energy industry at the end of 2016 than the year before. This is announced by the report "Dirty & Dangerous: the fossil fuel investments of Dutch pension fund ABP," published today by Both ENDS, German urgewald and Fossielvrij NL. The report criticizes these investments because of the impact on the climate and the catastrophic consequences for the people in the areas where coal, oil and gas are being produced.
-
Press release / 27 september 2022
Call to Dutch investors: get out of TotalEnergies
Utrecht/Amsterdam, 27 September 2022 - On Wednesday 28 September, Dutch civil society organisations will organise a protest at the offices of oil giant TotalEnergies in The Hague, drawing attention to the problems surrounding the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda. They are calling on investors to get out of TotalEnergies because of this project, which is causing human rights violations and serious environmental pollution. Two weeks ago the European Parliament passed a resolution against the human rights violations linked to EACOP.
-
Press release / 9 mei 2018
ABP promises to go green but sticks with fossil fuels
New research by Both ENDS, Fossielvrij NL and urgewald shows that, in 2017, pension fund ABP invested 500 million euros more in coal, oil and gas than in the previous year – a total of 10.9 billion euros. These investments in fossil fuels not only stand in sharp contrast to ABP's claim that it has achieved substantial successes in its climate policy, but are also in flagrant violation of the Paris climate agreement. Unlike international forerunners among pension funds, ABP continues unabated to invest in the fossil energy sector.
-
Press release / 22 juni 2020
Press release - Climate movement: “Pension funds, stop investing in fossil gas”
Amsterdam, Copenhagen 22 June 2020 – In these times of increasing climate crisis, corporate social responsibility also means that investments in fossil gas must be phased out as quickly as possible. In a world in which a maximum temperature rise of 1.5 Celsius is the norm, fossil gas cannot be a 'transition fuel' towards sustainable energy. This is the message from five European environmental organisations (Both ENDS, the Danish AnsvarligFremtid, Fossil Free Sweden, Fossil Free Berlin and the Italian Re:Common) to pension funds in their countries that still invest in fossil gas companies. They are promoting that message with a new campaign called "Gas Free Pensions", which is being launched today.
-
Press release / 23 september 2019
World's 5th largest pension fund ABP increases fossil fuel investments
Amsterdam, 23 September 2019 - The world's 5th largest pension fund, with assets of over €430 billion, Dutch ABP is continuing to invest in companies that are on a collision course with the Paris climate goals, such as coal and oil companies.
-
Dossier /
Uganda’s Energy Future
Despite the existence of many hydropower dams, foreign investments and large government spending on energy, and new plans for hydropower, oil and gas projects, the vast majority of rural Uganda still remains without electricity. Together with our local partners we are striving towards a sustainable energy strategy for Uganda that starts from the needs and wishes of local communities.
-
Press release / 3 februari 2020
Climate movement: ABP takes steps on coal and tar sands, but oil and gas remain blind spot
Amsterdam, 3 February 2020 - A step forward, but oil and gas remain a blind spot in Dutch pension fund ABP's new investment policy published today. That's what environmental organisations Both ENDS, Fossielvrij NL, Greenpeace Netherlands and urgewald say in response to the new climate policy of the EU's largest pension fund, with assets over 442 billion euros. Although ABP is taking first steps to invest sustainably, more is needed to stop the climate crisis.
-
Event / 18 juni 2022, 12:30
"Stop Fossil Finance" block Climate March
Still, more funds are spent on the fossil industry than on sustainable solutions. Banks, pension funds, insurers and governments keep investing in fossil infrastructure which endangers people and the environment. Therefore we call on financial institutions to stop funding the climate crisis.
Join our "Stop Fossil Finance" block at the next climate march!
-
Blog / 27 mei 2022
Divest from EACOP before it’s too late
and Abigail Kyomuhendo*
This week the annual shareholder meeting (AGM) of TotalEnergies took place. Whilst the shareholders celebrated their profits, Ugandan people were being evicted from their lands, thousands of kilometers away, for Total's East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). -
Publication / 23 september 2019
-
News / 9 februari 2022
Urgent letter to Dutch investors in Ugandan oil pipeline
TotalEnergies and the Chinese National Offshore Oil Cooperation (CNOOC) are currently developing an oil extraction and transportation project in Uganda: East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The project – the construction of a heated pipeline (EACOP) of no less than 1445 kilometers through Uganda and Tanzania to export crude oil, is increasingly causing human rights violations and environmental damage. This is a matter of great concern to civil society organisations in Uganda and beyond. This week, Both ENDS, together with partner organisations in Uganda, sent an urgent letter to twelve pension funds and asset managers with investments in TotalEnergies and CNOOC.