Harmen van Wijnen

Harmen van Wijnen is chairman of ABP, Europe’s largest pension fund. This year ABP divested from fossil fuels, selling some $10.8 billion worth of oil, gas, and coal assets in an industry-leading move. The group also changed its environmental, social, and governance investing strategy, tightening the rules to weed out “companies that are inextricably linked to climate change and cannot or do not want to change.”

What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?

We need to take action in protecting nature, which gives us everything we are looking for in the climate problem: a solution for carbon dioxide, a livable world, natural cooling. Protecting nature is a beautiful way of advancing the climate agenda because it can be done by anyone anywhere – in our own gardens, streets, and neighborhoods, but also at higher levels by governments and corporations, through stopping logging, abuse, and poaching.

What is a climate solution (other than your own) that isn't getting the attention or funding it deserves?

We need to pay attention to what I call the climate paradox, which evolves parallel to global warming. For example: The increasing number of heat waves leads to the purchase of more air conditioners around the world. The more air conditioners there are, the higher the electricity demand, and the warmer the climate gets. It is a vicious circle. There are now quite a few initiatives for sustainable air conditioning, and it is very important that they develop quickly and gain market share.

If you could stand up and talk to world leaders at the next U.N. climate conference, what would you say?

The climate problem is a global problem, which is also partly caused by globalization. The solution must also be global. The question is how we can stimulate and support the economy and help make it more sustainable, more circular, and more resilient. Governments, financial institutions, and companies must work together, and we have our work cut out for us. 

Pension funds like ABP are uniquely equipped to contribute to sustainable action. Our goal is to deliver a good and reliable pension for our participants. Therefore, solid returns are a must. This makes it all the more important for us to invest in a responsible and sustainable manner in a stable and resilient economy. As a long-term investor, we look for investments that will remain viable for decades to come. Companies that carefully manage the risks of a changing world meet those criteria. Companies that are either unwilling or unable to disassociate themselves from climate change do not. They must act upon the Paris Agreement. ABP seeks to carefully manage the risks that the changing economy can have on the portfolio. And it is time for all of us to move beyond the fallacy that there is a trade-off between returns and sustainability. Governments have to co-invest and ensure that our investments pay off for the participants.

ABP has taken multiple actions already. For example, we divested from fossil fuels, and we are developing entirely new methods for quantifying impact and are working towards a net-zero investment portfolio in 2050. Had we waited until all of those matters were entirely scrutinized to the most minute detail, those initiatives would not have even begun. And we know we are already making a difference. Recently, ABP launched Noordzeker, an initiative to build an offshore wind farm in the North Sea. It [is projected to] be able to cover 8% of the current Dutch demand for affordable electricity, while minimizing ecological effects and contributing to biodiversity. Noordzeker will introduce additional measures, such as artificial reefs, deactivating the turbines during periods of bird migration, and removing marine litter. Through this project, we intend to elevate the ecological bar for the development, production, and maintenance of wind turbines in the North Sea. This leads to good returns for our pension participants, and provides affordable and clean energy for the Netherlands. It is quite unique that a pension fund builds an offshore wind farm. We do it because we know it is time to act now to make a difference.