(Adds comment from Danish prime minister, pension fund
executive, background)
By Nikolaj Skydsgaard
COPENHAGEN, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Danish private pension funds
on Monday pledged to invest more than $50 billion in green
assets over the next decade to fight climate change, as part of
Denmark's ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% in
2030.
The funds will invest 350 billion Danish crowns ($52
billion) in energy infrastructure, green stocks and bonds and
energy efficient construction up to 2030, Danish pensions
industry association Insurance and Pension Denmark said in a
statement.
The investment was first announced on Sunday by Denmark's
prime minister Mette Frederiksen at a news conference in New
York before the summit.
Frederiksen recently took office on promises of setting a
70% reduction target in greenhouse gas emissions, one of the
world's most ambitious, by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
"Now we need to work on getting international investors on
board. That is imperative to realize the green transition
globally," Frederiksen said in a statement.
The funds will bring the total green investments to 511
billion crowns. Danish private pension funds, which doesn't
include public pension fund ATP, currently hold assets worth
3,100 billion crowns.
Environmental groups say the New York climate summit is
coming at a crucial time, as extreme weather events and spiking
temperatures affect more people in more parts of the globe.
Denmark's biggest private pension provider, PFA Pension,
which manages more than 600 billion Danish crowns, will focus
investments in offshore wind farms and photovoltaic energy as
well as climate-friendly properties and energy storage.
"There are quite big financing needs in many energy
projects," Allan Polack, PFA's chief executive told Reuters and
said PFA would invest in both shares and bonds as well as stakes
in unlisted companies and projects.
"But the exciting thing about the energy sector is the
transformation. We are trying to get BP, Shell and Total and
others to adapt and become far more climate friendly in their
energy production," Polack said.
More than 90 big companies, including Denmark's wind turbine
maker Vestas and wind farm developer Orsted, both market
leaders, have promised to slash emissions in a new campaign
launched ahead of Monday's climate summit.
($1 = 6.8041 Danish crowns)
(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard. Editing by Jane Merriman,
Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and David Evans)
