35 of the world’s biggest oil and gas firms were given their walking papers yesterday as the Danish pension, PKA, exerted its influence.
With £39 million in its coffers, the Danish pension fund excluded 35 oil and gas firms over failure to meet Paris climate agreement targets.
Gazprom, Rosneft, Marathon Oil, Apache and Sinopec were all dismissed as PKA doubled down on its threat to actively shift from oil and gas to renewable energy.
PKA had previously dismissed 70 coal firms as it holds big firms feet to the fire over climate targets, warning that the automotive industry is next.
Peter Damgaard Jensen, PKA chief executive, said he had reviewed 62 oil and gas companies to check if they had the “right managerial focus on the Paris agreement in their investments.”
PKA has some 300,000 Danish worker pensions under its control.
Mr Jensen added: “Automakers that don’t invest in the development of electric and hybrid cars will pose a financial risk, as electric cars will be more attractive to consumers in line with technological developments.”
Last year, Norges Bank announced that it has taken the decision to exclude nine companies from the $1.07 trillion Government Pension Fund, putting one firm “under observation”.
The landmark decision was taken based on each companies potential to cause environmental damage or violations of human rights.
Among those excluded by the Executive Board was Fluor Corporation, who yesterday announced that it had won a North Sea Penguin contract with Shell.
British defence contractor BAE Systems was also included among those companies excluded.