Norges Bank Investment Management has set up a new climate board to advise the Government Pension Fund Global, Oslo, on its climate-related efforts, according to its website.
GPFG is the sovereign wealth fund of Norway with 12.9 trillion Norwegian kroner ($1.3 trillion) in assets, which are managed by NBIM.
The new advisory board will support NBIM and the fund in implementing the 2025 climate plan and will advise on managing climate-related financial risks and opportunities.
In efforts to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050, NBIM's short-term plan entails advocating for improved global climate standards. By 2025, NBIM aims to have contributed to more sustainable and efficient financial markets by advocating for better corporate climate reporting, encouraging the establishment of credible transition pathways for companies and supporting academic research, it said.
As part of the plan, NBIM also plans to increase investments in renewable energy infrastructure and to reduce further greenhouse gas emissions intensity in its unlisted real estate portfolio.
The board members are:
- Jody Freeman, professor of law at Harvard Law School and an independent director on the board of directors of oil producer ConocoPhillips.
- Jennifer Morris, chief executive at global environmental organization The Nature Conservancy.
- Huw van Steenis, vice chairman at consultant Oliver Wyman and previously chairman of the sustainable finance committee at UBS.
- Bjorn Otto Sverdrup, chairman of the executive committee for the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.
Carine Smith Ihenacho, chief governance and compliance officer at NBIM, said in a news release Friday that experts will provide a wide breath of relevant climate expertize spanning academia, civil society, sustainable finance and business.
"We are confident they will help us maintain leadership in managing climate-related risks as an owner of companies through the climate transition," she added in the release.
