Photo: Twitter @350.org Europe
As it should not be a surprise to any of our viewers, the all-electric revolution has swept the auto industry like a storm and is here to stay. Many of the consequences of that are plain as day to see, but others aren’t nearly as much.
It would appear the global switch to EVs is playing a significant role in the decisions of multi-billion dollar business conglomerates. One of these happens to own one of the biggest oil companies in the world.
The Dutch ABP Holdings is one of the largest pension funds entities on the planet. But outside retirement investments, the company also holds a significant stake in Royal Dutch Shell, commonly shortened to Shell. ABP, which primarily handles investments from civil service workers and teachers, announced it would have sold off all of its €15 billion in stock shares of Shell by the first quarter of 2023.
Regulations and a greater understanding of the environmental impact of fossil fuels have shaped the policy of nations and corporations the world over in recent times. Now, ABP’s made the radical decision to divest all of its fossil fuel holdings just months after it’d said that it has no plans to offload any of its investments in Shell Oil.
Threats of legal action and potential sanctions should the company continue to refuse likely had a role in this change of attitude, although ABP claims that threats of legal demands had no bearing on the change in attitude. Pension investment firms like ABP have seen a newfound drive to consider the social responsibility of the investments themselves and their clients make. Across the ocean in Canada, CDPQ, the nation’s largest pension investment agency, announced it too would be dumping C$400 billion in fossil fuel investments by the end of 2022.
It’s a sign that the stranglehold the fossil fuel industry has had on investment opportunities over the last century will not sustain itself for much longer. If companies like ABP and CDPQ are deciding to ditch these investments in favor of eco-friendly technology, it’s a sign that big corporations are finally getting the hint that the real money isn’t in the oil business anymore, like it has been for almost a century.
The Dutch ABP Holdings is one of the largest pension funds entities on the planet. But outside retirement investments, the company also holds a significant stake in Royal Dutch Shell, commonly shortened to Shell. ABP, which primarily handles investments from civil service workers and teachers, announced it would have sold off all of its €15 billion in stock shares of Shell by the first quarter of 2023.
Regulations and a greater understanding of the environmental impact of fossil fuels have shaped the policy of nations and corporations the world over in recent times. Now, ABP’s made the radical decision to divest all of its fossil fuel holdings just months after it’d said that it has no plans to offload any of its investments in Shell Oil.
Threats of legal action and potential sanctions should the company continue to refuse likely had a role in this change of attitude, although ABP claims that threats of legal demands had no bearing on the change in attitude. Pension investment firms like ABP have seen a newfound drive to consider the social responsibility of the investments themselves and their clients make. Across the ocean in Canada, CDPQ, the nation’s largest pension investment agency, announced it too would be dumping C$400 billion in fossil fuel investments by the end of 2022.
It’s a sign that the stranglehold the fossil fuel industry has had on investment opportunities over the last century will not sustain itself for much longer. If companies like ABP and CDPQ are deciding to ditch these investments in favor of eco-friendly technology, it’s a sign that big corporations are finally getting the hint that the real money isn’t in the oil business anymore, like it has been for almost a century.
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