Norway review would let oil fund invest in some nuclear weapons makers
A review of Norway's oil fund has proposed letting it invest in some companies that make nuclear weapons, CNBC and AFP reported. Firms based in nuclear-armed states that are allied with Norway could be let back in. The fund is worth more than $2 trillion, and parliament is expected to vote in 2027.
A government-ordered review of Norway's sovereign wealth fund, known as the oil fund, has recommended letting it invest in some companies that make nuclear weapons, CNBC and AFP reported. The review committee presented its report on Thursday, the outlets reported. AFP reported that it is chaired by former central bank governor Svein Gjedrem.
Under the proposal, the fund could invest in nuclear arms makers based in a nuclear-weapon state under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that is allied with Norway, the outlets reported. "This means that several British, French and American arms manufacturers will be brought back into the fund," Gjedrem said, according to AFP.
Current rules bar the fund from companies such as Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing and Lockheed Martin because they help make nuclear weapons, the outlets reported. AFP reported that 14 companies are excluded on those grounds.
The fund is worth more than $2 trillion and owns about 1.5% of the world's listed companies, the outlets reported. CNBC put its value at about $2.3 trillion.
The review followed controversy over the fund's sale of stakes in some Israeli and American firms, CNBC reported. AFP reported that it followed criticism of investments in groups accused of playing a role in the war in Gaza. The report went to Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, a former NATO secretary general, AFP reported. Stoltenberg pointed to "the paradox" that the fund "cannot invest in companies that could be crucial for Norway's security," AFP reported.
The committee also proposed that the fund's Council on Ethics keep assessing companies but no longer advise on exclusions, the outlets reported. Other bans, such as those on makers of chemical and biological weapons, landmines and cluster bombs, would stay, AFP reported.
Rights groups objected. Amnesty International Norway said the proposals "risk weakening accountability and integrity and dismantling key human rights protections," CNBC reported. Norwegian Red Cross head Grete Herlofson called investing in nuclear arms makers "ethically and humanitarianly completely incomprehensible," the outlet reported.
A public consultation comes next, and parliament is expected to vote in 2027, the outlets reported. The current rules stay in place until then, CNBC reported.
What we know: A review has proposed letting Norway's oil fund invest in nuclear arms makers based in allied nuclear states.
What we don't: Whether the government and parliament will adopt the change.
Where outlets agree CNBC and AFP report that a review has proposed letting Norway's oil fund invest in nuclear arms makers based in nuclear-weapon states allied with Norway.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.