13 December, 2017

Climate Group Sceptical of NZ Superfund’s Engagement Position

350 Aotearoa is sceptical of the Climate Action 100 Plus campaign that 250 of the world’s largest investors, including the New Zealand Superfund have joined. The campaign aims to engage with the top 100 greenhouse gas emitters to encourage them to clean up their act.

These investors have more than $US26 trillion under management and have no plans to divest themselves from the top polluting companies, but have agreed to engage as shareholders.

“Shareholder engagement only works in sectors where there is best practice. There is no ethical way to dig and drill for more fossil fuels, so engagement with companies like Exxon Mobil can’t work to stop climate change,” said Niamh O’Flynn, executive director of 350 Aotearoa.

“The fossil fuel industry has been engaging with shareholders for decades on their climate impacts, with very little result. Engagement with investors like NZ Superfund gives the fossil fuel giants the legitimacy to continue their polluting for as long as possible.”

350 Aotearoa calls on the NZ Superfund and others to commit to full divestment from coal, oil, and gas, citing that only full divestment can remove the social licence that the fossil fuel industry needs to operate.

To stay within two degrees of global warming at least 80% of current fossil fuel assets must not be extracted and burned. These investors are continuing to invest in assets that they will need to write off.

This year the NZ Superfund divested $NZ950 million from coal, oil and gas, but left $1 billion invested in most of the companies that the Climate Action 100 Plus campaign is targeting.

“ When the scandal broke about NZ investments in cluster munitions last year, companies didn’t say, “It’s important that we keep some of our shares in cluster bombs so that we can engage with the manufacturers”. Why? Because the core purpose of cluster munitions industry is unethical. Fossil fuels are like cluster bombs for the climate.”

“Investors like NZ Superfund need to decide which side of history they want to stand on. And remaining invested in fossil fuels is the wrong side.”

Ends.

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