Dutch pension fund PFZW sells of €303 million in fossil fuel investments

The pension fund for the care and welfare sector, PFZW, sold its interest in 78 oil and gas companies that are not doing enough to reduce their CO2 emissions. Over the past months, the pension fund sold approximately 303 million euros in shares. The sale is part of a program the fund started last year.

PFZW aims to invest only in oil and gas companies committed to the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. The pension fund expects the companies it invests in to contribute to limiting global warming.

PFZW is in “intensive dialogue” with 12 oil and gas companies it feels are not doing enough yet. It also uses its rights as a shareholder, such as the right to vote at shareholders’ meetings, to move these talks along.

If the remaining companies fail to bring their business processes into line with the climate objectives before the end of this year, PFZW will sell those shares too. The pension fund’s shares in these 12 companies are worth around 1.2 billion euros.

Since launching its program to help limit global warming last year, PFZW has sold its stakes in 192 companies, amounting to approximately 18 percent of its total investments in oil and gas companies. It involves a value of around 772 million euros, according to PFZW.