Pension fund PFZW pulls BP, Shell investments over slow move away from fossil fuels

The Dutch pension fund for the healthcare and welfare sector PFZW has sold 97 percent of its interests in oil and gas companies because the companies’ transition away from fossil fuels to renewables is not happening fast enough. PFZW sold its interest in 310 companies, including Shell, BP, and Total Energies, with a total value of 2.8 billion euros, Financieele Dagblad reports.

The decision follows two years of the pension fund exerting pressure on the fossil fuel companies to step up their climate efforts, PFZW chairman Joanne Kellerman told FD. “It is disappointing and upsetting. We hoped for the leadership of the very large companies. The oil majors are needed for the transition with their knowledge and financial strength. But that was a big disappointment,” she said.

PFZW now only has seven oil and gas companies remaining in its portfolio, including Worley, Neste Oyj, Galp Energia, and OMV. According to Kellerman, these companies have a convincing climate strategy.

With 237.8 billion euros under its management, PFZW is the second-largest pension fund in the Netherlands and the 12th-largest in the world. It is responsible for the pensions of 2.9 million people who work or worked in the healthcare sector.

PFZW will reinvest the money released from the sale of shares and bonds in fossil fuel companies. It also started a new fund that invests in mainly Dutch companies developing products to promote the energy transition or benefit the climate. For example, PFZW recently invested 500 million euros in SCW, which produces hydrogen and green gas from waste.

PFZW is not the first Dutch pension fund to divest its interests in fossil fuels. ABP, the largest pension fund in the Netherlands, sold its fossil investments, totaling 9 billion euros. PME also largely got rid of its fossil fuel investments.