The Amazon fires may impact our ambitions to limit climate change
DNB is concerned about the recent spate of forest fires in Brazil and how this, amongst other issues, may impact on long-term international ambitions to limit climate change, says Janicke Scheele.
Deforestation and land-use has been one of our thematic focus areas for a long time and is centered on the agricultural commodities, which are collectively responsible for 80% of deforestation.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that approximately 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to agriculture, deforestation and land-use changes. In our work on this topic, we have set expectations towards companies, practiced active ownership through engagement, excluded companies from all funds (including our passive funds), and chosen not to invest in certain companies in our active funds.
We report on our progress on this area in our Annual Report on Responsible Investments 2018.
As a large shareholder our ambition is to use our influence for the good
Our engagement work with companies on deforestation and land-use is implemented through several channels:
- Through our engagement consultant, with clear goals and milestones on progress achieved.
- Through three initiatives coordinated by the UNPRI and Ceres focused on cattle products, palm oil, and soy.
- In Norway and the Nordics, where we are a large, influential shareholder, we are, for instance, proactively engaging with aquaculture companies on use of soy in feed, amongst other relevant ESG issues. It is important for companies buying commodities from Brazil to ensure that certification standards are working properly (through audits and traceability) and seek more sustainable sources of protein in the long-term.
In addition to climate change, these working groups also address issues related to water and human rights.
Through these channels, work to prevent deforestation associated with the production of soft-commodities by working for: