
According to the report, Swedish banks have granted large loans to oil companies operating in the Arctic over the last few years, and this is questioned considering current climate crisis.
The report does not mention that Nordea has reduced its financing of oil, gas and offshore activities by more than 70 percent since the end of 2019. Nordea will also, by 2025 at the latest, discontinue all financing of offshore companies, defined as companies within the oil and gas industry engaged in drilling for hydrocarbons in the ocean. Two out of six companies linked to Nordea in the report belong to this segment. Nordea has also set clear sustainability targets and was the first Nordic bank with the objective to reduce the carbon emissions across our lending and investment portfolios by 2030 in alignment with the 1.5-degree target set out in the IPCC report.
The Arctic is a very important issue and Nordea welcomes a debate about the risks of conducting business in this area. It is worth noting that Nordea’s policy for this sector defines the Arctic as offshore locations enclosed by the southernmost extent of winter sea ice above the Arctic Circle. This is the same definition also used by the Norwegian government, and we do not support businesses that are operating in that area.