Denmark’s Sampension, Swedish pension company Folksam, and the Australian non-governmental organisation Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) have called on Equinor's board to address the contradiction between its new fossil strategy and shareholder's expectations.

Sampension, along with other investors, will present a shareholder proposal at the company's upcoming annual general meeting in May 2025.

Equinor’s 2025 Transition Plan stated that it expects to increase the production of oil and gas in the coming years, in new international fields in the United States and Brazil, among other places.

According to Sampension, Folksam, and ACCR, these plans to expand fossil fuel activities, not least in international fields, are not in line with the expectations of the Norwegian state, which is the majority shareholder in Equinor with a total share of 71 per cent.

At the company's annual general meeting in 2023, the Norwegian state expressed the expectation that Equinor "sets targets and implements actions to reduce its carbon monoxide emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement".

The proposal at the shareholder meeting will require Equinor to account for how the company's new fossil growth strategy is aligned with the Norwegian state's expectations regarding the Paris Agreement.

Sampension head of environmental, social and governance, Jacob Ehlerth Jørgensen, explained that with its new strategy, Equinor will reduce the green ambitions and increase the fossil ambitions.

He emphasised this was the “wrong way to go” and “very problematic”, not least at a time when climate change is accelerating.

“And it is particularly worrying that Equinor justifies its fossil activities in new international fields in the need for security of supply,” he said.

“Experience has shown that Equinor's international fields have taken many years to come on stream and thus do not contribute to alleviating the supply problems we face in Europe.

"Investing in extraction that would only be able to produce oil and gas in perhaps a decade or two cannot be justified on the basis of European security of supply.

“At the same time, it is obviously not in harmony with the Paris Agreement, and thus these plans also contradict what Equinor's largest shareholder expects from the company.”

He stated that Sampension would like an explanation for this and encouraged all investors to support its proposal, including the Norwegian state, which as the majority shareholder has the decisive votes.

Jørgensen said Sampension believes it has better opportunities to move a company in a more responsible direction through dialogue and active ownership rather than through divestment but warned there were “limits to its patience”.

“And when it comes to fossil energy companies such as Equinor, we have set a deadline that means that the companies - no later than when they report for 2025 - must have a climate strategy that is in harmony with the Paris Agreement. If this is not the case, we will reconsider our investment,” he continued.

The Paris Agreement means that the global temperature increase must be kept well below 2 degrees, to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees compared to pre-industrial levels.

European Pensions has contacted Equinor, but it is yet to respond.

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