Document Type
Working Paper
Date of this Version
8-2021
Abstract
As the largest sovereign wealth fund (SWF) in the world, the Norwegian SWF’s efforts to move in a more sustainable direction are often followed by other institutional investors. This chapter examines how the Norwegian SWF (officially, the Government Pension Fund – Global, or GPFG) has evolved into a responsible investor, balancing ethics, environment, social, and governance (ESG) risks with returns. The focus is mainly on its actions to address financial climate change risks. If the GPFG continues to evolve toward sustainable investment and acts on the latest International Energy Agency report that calls, among other things, for an end to all new fossil fuel production, it can serve as a good model for other institutional investors to deal with the challenge of climate change while remaining profitable.
Keywords
Sovereign wealth fund, ESG investment, climate change
JEL Code
H5, Q51, Q54, Q56
Working Paper Number
WP2021-16
Copyright/Permission Statement
All findings, interpretations, and conclusions of this paper represent the views of the author and not those of the Wharton School or the Pension Research Council. © 2021 Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.
Date Posted: 18 August 2021