SEOUL: South Korea’s National Pension Service (NPS) said on Friday it will limit investing in industries related to coal mining and coal-fired power, in line with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
The world’s third-largest pension fund, with 872.5 trillion won (US$783.42 billion) in assets as of the end of March, announced its commitment to supporting coal-free power saying it would no longer invest in any projects for new coal power plants at home and abroad.
Getting the world’s third largest pension fund on board to end international financing of coal projects could bolster South Korea’s green leadership credentials ahead of a climate change summit it is hosting this weekend.
President Moon Jae-in last year pledged that South Korea would go carbon neutral by 2050.
Conglomerates from Samsung Electronics to Hyundai Motor will discuss their plans for going carbon neutral at the climate summit.
The NPS, in a statement released after a meeting of its fund management committee, did not elaborate on the timing or details of specific projects subject to financing exclusion, but said it planned to setup an action plan on where not to invest.
(Reporting by Joori Roh, Cynthia Kim; Editing by Robert Birsel)
