Follow us
(Bloomberg) — Swiss institutional investors managing more than $270 billion in combined assets plan to stop buying debt issued by some of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers.
The decision, shared with Bloomberg by representatives of the investment firms, follows a recommendation from the Swiss Association for Responsible Investments, SVVK-ASIR. The association, which represents pension funds and insurers, has asked members to blacklist debt issued by Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., Marathon Petroleum Corp., PBF Energy Inc., Phillips 66, Valero Energy Corp. and Saudi Arabian Oil Co., once existing holdings mature.
The development comes as many of the world’s biggest oil companies maintain or increase production. In the US, the Trump administration is encouraging producers to boost output, while dismissing net zero goals as “woke” and harmful to economic growth. Saudi Aramco, meanwhile, is the world’s largest corporate emitter of carbon dioxide.
Investment firms agreeing to follow the association’s guidance include the Swiss Federal Pension Fund, Publica. A spokesperson for the fund, which manages 44.9 billion Swiss francs ($56.8 billion), said it’s ready to exclude the companies’ debt after efforts to engage failed to “yield the desired results.”
