OSLO: Companies should be doing more to protect the world’s oceans, including combatting plastic waste pollution, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, said on Wednesday.
“The ocean is a vital part of the biosphere and an important part of the global economy,” said Yngve Slyngstad, the head of the fund valued at 8.66 trillion kroner (890 billion euros, $1.03 trillion).
“We expect companies to manage the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable use of the oceans,” he added.
A heavyweight on the global finance scene, the Government Pension Fund Global published a document outlining what it expects from the 9,000 companies in which it holds stakes.
Among other things, it urged them to integrate environmental ideas into their business strategies, suggesting for example that plastics producers plan a transition to a “circular economy” frugal in raw materials, and that fisheries companies incorporate forecasts on future stocks in their planning.
The recommendations apply to companies active at sea — shipping, fisheries, fish farms — as well as others on land whose activities may affect the oceans, such as distribution and plastics industries and agriculture, the fund said.
The fund has in the past laid out its expectations on other issues, including better efforts in water management, anti-corruption, human rights and tax transparency, judging that bad practices in these fields can ultimately hurt companies’ profitability.
On Wednesday, the fund also published a document reviewing its support of the United Nations sustainable development goals.
“Our most important contribution is to strengthen governance, improve performance and promote sustainable business practices,” Slyngstad said.
In addition to its expectations based purely on financial considerations, the fund also follows ethical guidelines that bar it from investing in, among other things, companies that commit serious human rights violations, manufacture nuclear or “particularly inhumane” weapons, or those in the coal and tobacco industries.
World’s biggest sovereign fund pleads to save oceans
World’s biggest sovereign fund pleads to save oceans
- “The ocean is a vital part of the biosphere and an important part of the global economy,” said Yngve Slyngstad, the head of the fund
Britain needs to step up defense spending faster, says Starmer
- Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30
LONDON: Britain should step up and accelerate its defense spending, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday, following a report that the government was considering bringing forward its target to spend 3 percent of economic output on defense.
Britain, which has warned of the risks posed by Russia, said in February 2025 that it would lift annual defense spending to 2.5 percent of the GDP by 2027 and aim for 3 percent in the next Parliament, which is expected to begin after an election due in 2029.
The BBC reported that the government was now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029. It said no decision had been taken but the government recognized current plans would not cover rising defense costs.
HIGHLIGHT
The BBC reported that the government is now exploring ways to reach the 3 percent target by 2029.
Asked whether he would bring the target forward to 2029, Starmer echoed comments he made at the Munich Security Conference, where he said Europe had united to support Ukraine with the supply of weapons and munitions and to strengthen military readiness.
“We need to step up. That means on defense spending, we need to go faster,” Starmer told reporters on Monday. “We’ve obviously made commitments already in relation to that, but it goes beyond just how much you spend.”
Latest NATO estimates show that Britain spent 2.3 percent of the GDP on defense in 2024, above the alliance’s 2 percent guideline. But like other European countries, it has faced US pressure to spend more to protect the continent. Struggling with high debt and spending commitments, the government last year cut its international aid budget to fund the hike in defense spending to 2.5 percent of GDP but is yet to publish an investment plan with spending priorities, something that has frustrated the defense industry.
Britain’s budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, said last year that raising defense spending to 3 percent of the GDP would cost an additional £17.3 billion a year ($24 billion) in 2029-30.
Finance Minister Rachel Reeves has struggled to stay on track with her plans to repair the public finances. The BBC said the Finance Ministry was believed to be cautious about the new defense spending proposals.
A government spokesperson said Britain was “delivering the largest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.”
