Quarantine confirmed for major fossil fuel company by Nordea
In a significant move towards sustainability, Nordea, one of Europe's largest banks, has implemented a decision to quarantine investments related to TotalEnergies, a company involved in various fossil fuel projects. This action reflects heightened scrutiny towards investments associated with TotalEnergies, marking a form of investment restriction.
The bank's Sustainability and Ethics Committee, which has explicitly engaged with fossil fuel financing issues, including TotalEnergies' joint ventures, indicates a cautious or restrictive stance on financing new fossil fuel developments. This strategic approach is in line with Nordea's official climate and sustainability policies, approved in early 2025, which emphasize curbing financing for coal and oil & gas projects and fast-tracking finance for a just energy transition to low-carbon alternatives.
While Nordea is moving towards reducing its funding or exposure to oil and gas projects, it's important to note that the bank has not yet fully divested or completely halted all fossil fuel investment. Instead, it appears to be adopting a more transition-focused approach, consistent with global climate commitments and pressure from campaigns like BankTrack.
Recently, a resolution was proposed at Nordea's AGM, calling on the bank to cease lending to fossil fuel firms. However, this resolution was rejected by shareholders. Tim Whyte, secretary general at ActionAid Denmark, confirmed that Ugandan climate activists met with Nordea's responsible investment team last year to raise concerns about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP), a project in which TotalEnergies is involved.
The EACOP project, intended to transport oil from Uganda's Lake Albert oilfields to Tanzania for global sale, has been accused of resulting in forced displacement, arbitrary arrests, and assaults on affected citizens. The decision by Nordea to quarantine TotalEnergies over the EACOP project is significant, as it could potentially lead to similar actions by other banks and investors.
Katrine Ehnhuus, senior advisor at the Nordic Center for Sustainable Finance, argues that delegitimizing TotalEnergies by divesting is the only step forward. She considers the reputational risk connected to divesting from TotalEnergies a greater threat to the company than a critical investor.
ActionAid is now urging Nordea to extend its quarantine to the 60 other companies in its portfolio that are also building new oil and gas fields, to support the global green transition. The resolution at Nordea's AGM, while rejected, serves as a call for the bank to align more closely with sustainability goals and address concerns over fossil fuel financing.
- The decision by Nordea to quarantine TotalEnergies over the East African Crude Oil Pipeline Project (EACOP) is a step in line with Nordea's policy of restricting financing for coal and oil & gas projects, as it emphasizes a low-carbon transition in the environmental science sector.
- Katrine Ehnhuus, senior advisor at the Nordic Center for Sustainable Finance, advocates for divesting from TotalEnergies, citing the reputational risk for the company as a greater threat than criticism from investors, pointing towards the potential influence on the corporation's finance and energy strategy.
- Although Nordea has quarantined TotalEnergies, it still invests in fossil fuel projects, making the need for more action in alignment with climate change commitments in the industry a prominent concern, especially as campaigns like BankTrack apply pressure for Nordea to expand its quarantine to other companies involved in new oil and gas developments.
