Norway is standing up for its sovereign wealth fund, the biggest in the western world and the fourth biggest in the world.
While the tide is turning globally following the voting in of Donald Trump, with many nations now turning their back on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) policies the Scandinavian country remains steadfast. But Norway can afford not to kowtow to US policies and fund managers eager to follow the Trump line.
The key to Norway having such a large sovereign wealth fund in spite of only having a five-and-a-half million population (around 60 percent the size of London) lies not only in its oil and gas reserves and canny tech investments, but in its law that prohibits spending of those funds above 3 percent annually.
Most Read on Euro Weekly News
And of that small amount the Bank of Norway is permitted to invest, and despite continued pressure to diversify investment away from non-ESG ventures, Norwegians are not listening because they can afford to.
The amount Norway has managed to keep in the cast-iron piggy bank is currently said to be enough to pay public pensions for the next 120+ years.
The irony of their wealth coming from oil and gas is that they are using it to move away from fossil fuel dependency. For example, car sales in Norway are expected to reach 100 percent electric cars in the next few months, a trend that could potentially bite the hand that feeds them. But Norwegians remain unfazed. For Norwegians, the largest part this is weaning the world off oil and gas is the priority.