Denmark’s Pension Fund for Academics (P+) has decided to divest from oil and gas companies ENI and Repsol, meaning that the pension fund now has no investments in any ‘major’ oil and gas firms.

Since 2019, P+ has been gradually divesting from oil and gas companies.

It initially chose to retain the two European firms ENI and Repsol, both of which had committed to reaching carbon net zero.

In 2021, both firms were put on P+’s observation list and under increased active ownership.

While the pension fund said it wanted to prioritise working to influence companies it invested in to help them develop in accordance with its policy for responsible investment, it would divest from those making slow progress.

In September 2023, P+ decided that the firms’ journeys to net zero was “going too slowly”, and therefore concluded that both companies should be excluded from the pension fund portfolio.

"For the past three years, we have intensified active ownership with ENI and Repsol and tried to keep them on their initial green goals,” commented P+ investment director, Jasper Riis.

“However, we unfortunately have to state that the companies have not moved sufficiently.

“For example, ENI still has plans to expand their oil production in the Arctic.

“We took the consequence of that in September, with the decision that both companies should be de-selected.”

With these divestments, P+ said that it has now excluded all ‘major’ oil and gas companies from its portfolio.

Riis continued: "A pension is a long-term investment. We believe that an oil and gas company's development over the long horizon will be linked to the company's ability to adapt to the broad objectives in the climate area.

“Therefore, our opt-out is completely in line with our investment process with a focus on good risk-adjusted returns over a long-term horizon."

Share Story: