Norway’s five largest investors supported the majority of climate resolutions filed at oil and gas majors in 2023, according to research by activist group Follow This. “These Norwegian investors show the world that voting is essential to active ownership,” said Mark van Baal, Founder of Follow This. “Big Oil will only change if shareholders vote for change. Investors who divest, transfer their shares to less responsible shareholders, enabling Big Oil to drill for more oil and gas with disastrous consequences for the climate and economy.” The report argued that the assessed voting behaviour of the likes of Norges Bank Investment Management and Storebrand contrasts with the approach taken by other investors across Europe, who tend to opt for engagement or divestment. “These large Norwegian investors are true stewards of the global economy,” van Baal continued. “Their peers enable most oil majors to continue to cause climate breakdown. We trust they will follow, once they realise that Big Oil is using their votes against Paris-alignment as support for holding on to fossil fuels as long as possible and thereby exacerbating the climate crisis.”
