Nordea Asset Management is part of a coalition of 44 institutional investors and asset managers urging EU decision-makers to uphold the EU's methane emissions regulation.
A group of 44 leading institutional investors, including Nordea Asset Management, representing more than EUR 4.5 trillion in assets under management, has signed a letter calling on the European Commission, European Parliament and EU Member States to uphold and swiftly implement the EU’s methane emissions regulation.
They warn that any rollback would undermine regulatory certainty and market stability – and slow down progress on methane reduction.
Eric Pedersen, Head of Responsible Investments at Nordea, represented this powerful investor group at meetings in Brussels with politicians and officials in November, including the chief of staff to the Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, Wopke Hoekstra. Other coalition members include Sampension, AP3, Storebrand Asset Management, Miller/Howard Investments and the Church of England Pensions Board.
In their letter, the coalition urges EU policymakers to avoid reopening the regulation, ensure consistent and timely implementation across the EU, and apply rigorous standards for third-country equivalency. They emphasise that this will provide predictability for businesses, safeguard market integrity and reinforce the EU’s global leadership on methane.
Performance on methane is increasingly viewed as a marker of management quality, process safety and operational excellence – all factors closely linked to long-term shareholder value.”
While some politicians argue that fewer rules can strengthen competitiveness, Eric Pedersen points out that companies and investors actually rely on the data and stability that regulation provides.
“In Brussels as everywhere else, politicians sometimes cast rules and reporting requirements as obstacles and argue that fewer rules are better. But we argue that companies and investors actually need substantial data and regulation that supports it. Watering down regulation that companies have already based investment decisions on is counterproductive and, in this case, risks undermining globally agreed methane reduction efforts,” he says.
Eric Pedersen stresses that the fight against climate change is not just an environmental issue:
“Climate change – storms, forest fires and floods – which methane emissions contribute to, affects all types of companies in all types of countries. It’s a risk across entire portfolios and if not properly addressed, it results in lower returns for everyone. Performance on methane is increasingly viewed as a marker of management quality, process safety and operational excellence – all factors closely linked to long-term shareholder value.”
The meetings in Brussels demonstrate how Nordea, as a financial institution, exercises active ownership and uses its influence to promote sustainable development. Nordea Asset Management has for several years driven an investor collaboration engaging with oil and gas companies on reducing their methane emissions.