Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's biggest at more than $1 trillion, will soon be able to invest in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure projects, such as wind farms and solar parks, the government said on Friday.

Currently 66.3 percent of the fund is invested in shares, 30.7 percent in bonds, and three percent in real estate.

While the fund already owns stakes in listed companies in the renewable energy sector, Friday's announcement means it will now have more latitude to invest in infrastructure projects at an earlier stage, thereby allowing it to maximize its gains. 

"Allowing for unlisted renewable energy infrastructure is not a climate policy measure, but is a part of the investment strategy for the fund," Finance Minister Siv Jensen said in a statement. "These investments shall be subject to the same profitability and transparency requirements as the other investments of the fund."

Fueled by the Norwegian state's oil revenues, the fund already has an envelope of a maximum 60 billion kroner ($7 billion) reserved for climate investments. That ceiling will now be doubled to 120 billion kroner. 

The trend can also be seen in the policies of the biggest Scandinavian companies, such as the  Swedish-based furniture producer IKEA. Making Poland one of its top production countries, the company has recently announced its ambitions to become 100-percent carbon-neutral by 2030. At the same time, IKEA has presented the nine rules of „Circular Design”, according to which all new products by IKEA will be designed so that they can be reused, repaired, processed or re-sold.

Source: www.thelocal.no, www.spcc.pl
Photo: Pixabay