Norway’s Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), responsible for the investments of the Government Pension Fund Global, has engaged 480 companies on climate-related topics, covering 54 per cent of its financed emissions in 2024.

NBIM's 11th annual report on responsible investment showed its extensive engagement on climate-related issues and investment decisions throughout 2024.

The report also showed that 141 companies participated in NBIM’s net-zero dialogues, representing 46 per cent of the fund’s total emissions.

The investment manager also pre-screened 533 companies entering its index and decided to divest from or abstain from investing in 27 firms.

This marks a decline from the last report when NBIM assessed over 1,000 companies and decided against owning 54 of them.

Beyond engagement, NBIM expanded its renewable energy investments, acquiring stakes in solar, onshore, and offshore wind projects. This included joint ventures in Portugal and Spain, along with its first asset acquisition in the UK.

The report further outlined the progress towards its 2025 climate action plan, which it said aims for its portfolio companies to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

By the end of 2024, 74 per cent of emissions in the portfolio were covered by net-zero targets, an increase of 6 percentage points from 2023.

“Climate action is crucial for safeguarding financial returns. Studies indicate that climate change poses a material risk to long-term value creation,” NBIM chief governance and compliance officer, Carine Smith Ihenacho, said.

NBIM's report also emphasised its commitment to transparency, as in 2024 it enhanced its voting disclosure through the Bloomberg voting platform and offered more detailed rationales for select votes.

In addition to this, NBIM disclosed increased information on its ownership dialogues and their progress on its website.

Smith Ihenacho said transparency builds trust and knowledge about the fund and being open about how NBIM works helps companies, investors, and other stakeholders understand its priorities and supports its goal of promoting long-term value creation in the companies it invests in.

---