Norway’s $2.3-Trillion Fund Opposes SEC Idea to Rescind Climate Reporting
The world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s $2.3-trillion Government Pension Fund Global, does not support the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) proposal to scrap requirements for climate-related risks and disclosures.
The SEC in May requested input from investors about a proposal to rescind the Final Rules requiring registrants to provide certain climate-related information in their registration statements and annual reports.
Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which is commonly referred to as 'Norway's oil fund' because it was created with oil and gas revenues, is a shareholder in many large companies in the world, including Big Oil. The Norwegian fund was created in the 1990s, and today it holds, on average, 1.5% of all listed companies in the world.
The manager of the Norwegian fund, Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), published on Friday a letter it had sent to the SEC to express its view on the proposed scrapping of climate-related disclosures.
“NBIM does not recommend outright rescission of the Final Rules. We support the existing framework's materiality standard, which elicits disclosure of climate-related risks when material to a registrant's financial condition,” the manager of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund said.
“In our view, the Final Rules would add a valuable analytical layer by codifying a structured framework for how climate-related risks, when material, are identified, managed and reflected in company governance, strategy and financial statements,” NBIM’s Chief Governance and Compliance Officer, Carine Smith Ihenacho, noted.
NBIM believes that “alternatives to outright rescission exist that would address the Commission's concerns about scope and cost, while preserving a baseline of financially material disclosure.”
As of the end of 2025, NBIM managed more than $2 trillion in assets, with the United States representing its largest market at 53% of total investments. Within the Norwegian fund’s equity portfolio, $822 billion was invested in shares of 1,306 U.S. public companies. NBIM is a minority shareholder in U.S. public companies, with an average equity ownership of 1.2%, the fund’s manager said.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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