TransCanada Corporation, ExxonMobil, and Russian gas giant Gazprom are on the list of a half-dozen companies whose stocks have been dropped by AP7, Sweden’s largest pension fund, on grounds that they’ve violated the Paris agreement.
“Since the last screening in December 2016, the Paris agreement to the UN Climate Convention is one of the norms we include in our analysis,” fund managers stated.
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“AP7 provides pensions to 3.5 million Swedish citizens, making it the country’s largest national pension fund,” CleanTechnica reports. In an announcement last week, the fund “accused ExxonMobil, Westar, Southern Corporation, and Entergy of fighting against climate legislation in the United States,” dropped Gazprom for exploring for oil in the Russian Arctic, and dumped TransCanada “for building large-scale pipelines across North America.”
Exxon pushed back on the announcement, claiming AP7 “has not communicated to us its evaluation process” and pointing to its own rhetorical support for the Paris deal. But 350.org Strategic Communications Director Jamie Henn had a different response.
“Sweden divesting its largest pension fund from Exxon proves you can’t claim to support climate action while funding and perpetuating climate change,” he said. “Exxon knew about climate change half a century ago, and continues to sow doubt and bankroll climate deniers. With its core business model dependent on exploiting people and planet for profit, Exxon is in direct violation of the Paris agreement.”
