According to the ABP, looking at a company every quarter does not give a good picture of what it is doing in its energy portfolio. “We also sold a lot of coal. It’s just what you zoom in on,” says a spokesperson. Since 2015, the share of coal in ABP’s total energy investments has decreased from 8 to 4 percent.
The share of fossil energy in the total energy portfolio remained the same in the same period: around 60 percent. The fund currently invests 15.3 billion euros in fossil fuels, about 3 percent of the total assets of 500 billion.
ABP has now invested 13.8 billion in the sustainable development goal of ‘affordable and sustainable energy’. According to the spokesperson, ABP wants that amount to quickly exceed the capital invested in fossil fuels.
Active investor
“Our investors weigh four points with every investment. Cost, return, risk and ESG,” says the ABP spokesperson. ESG is about the question of how a company scores in the field of climate (Environmental), social (Social) and governance (Governance).
According to the spokesperson, ABP is an active investor within that framework. “At that time in the market, in the midst of the crisis, the financial markets were in a state of flux. Our investors act when they see an opportunity.”
In October 2020, Shell’s share price reached 10 euro a low point. Since then, the price has risen again to around 17 euros.
Because ABP publishes financial interests with a delay, it is not known what the investors of the fund have done from 1 January.
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