Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) has welcomed the Financial Stability Board’s efforts to draft “homogeneous, appropriate and consistent” reporting guidelines for climate risks.

The manager, responsible for Norway’s NOK7.1trn (€763bn) Government Pension Fund Global, was responding to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) chaired by businessman Michael Bloomberg.

It welcomed the TCFD’s attempts to draft an “effective” framework.

In a letter co-signed by Petter Johnsen, CIO of equity strategies, and William Ambrose, global head of ownership strategies, NBIM said the development of any such framework of climate risks was a “priority”.

It said the TCFD’s work could see consistent reporting across not only jurisdictions but also sectors and asset classes.

The task force has already said it would like to introduce a reporting template for real assets as part of its work.

“Sectoral guidelines are necessary, both to ensure appropriate information is disclosed and to avoid an unnecessary, heavy general reporting burden,” the letter continues.

“A parsimonious set of consistent and comparable indicators, related to absolute and relative direct and indirect emission levels and future targets, as well as information about investment plans, underlying assumptions and selected asset-related information, could and should be achievable for most sectors.”

The letter, released by NBIM earlier this month, also warns the TCFD about the differing types of climate risk facing investors.

“Investors in secondary markets will face different risks and opportunities than, for example, the mortgage banks or insurance companies,” it adds.

“Retail investors or investors without defined liabilities will be exposed to other challenges than traditional pension funds or life insurers.”

The letter concludes by stressing the importance of continued research into climate-related risks.

“A thorough understanding of the economy-wide and financial implications of climate change – and the appropriate weighing of impacts, costs and benefits – is necessary to arrive at a useful set of reporting items, within the right context.”

The asset manager has extended grants to research on long-term ownership behaviour and engaged ownership.

(ipe)

Norway’s largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative TINE are to open a new Jarlsberg cheese production facility in Ireland.

The project will see TINE form a partnership with Dairygold’s existing speciality cheese factory in Mogeely, Co Cork.

Dairygold Chief Executive Jim Woulfe said: ““Dairygold is pleased that TINE has chosen to invest in a new Jarlsberg production facility in Mogeely in partnership with Dairygold.

“Dairygold currently produce Jarlsberg cheese for TINE in Mogeely, under a relationship that goes back over ten years.

“The proposed new investment will enable TINE and Dairygold to further develop what is already a strong relationship between the two like-minded farmer-owned businesses.”

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Mary Mitchell O’ Connor, said “I’m delighted to hear of Dairygold bringing the production of a world-class Norwegian cheese brand to Ireland, home to the finest dairy production capability in the world.”

Michael Creed, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said “Speciality Jarlsberg® cheese will give Irish milk yet another welcome route to an internationally established cheese market. Adding value to top quality Irish milk is a key part of Ireland’s strategy for the development of the agri-food sector.”

The Norwegian Export Credit Agency (GIEK) has said that the sharp downturn in the offshore industry means that a massive 50 per cent of its NKr102 billion (US$12.3 billion) loan guarantee portfolio has been placed under what it describes as “close scrutiny”. At the end of 2015, NKr87.2 billion of its guarantees were in the oil and gas sector.

GIEK head of communications Allon Groth told the Immediasea forum in London that GIEK expects that the difficult market situation in the offshore sector will be long lasting, until at least 2020. “Any solutions for companies in trouble also need to be long-term and not short-term quick fixes.”

He said that the situation is serious “but we are making provision to handle it”. GIEK provides loan guarantees and credit alongside commercial banks for contracts for vessels and related equipment from Norwegian suppliers.

Mr Groth said that at the end of 2015 it had made loss provisions of NKr4.8 billion, but that this is likely to increase in 2016. He commented: “We are dealing with the situation but it is costing a lot of money.”

He stressed that GIEK, which is backed by the Norwegian government, has extensive provision to withstand substantial losses, but the terms of its loan guarantees mean that if offshore companies default on loans, GIEK must cover those payments.

He told the forum that GIEK works closely with owners and banks to find solutions where companies or projects are in trouble. “If companies run into trouble GIEK and other guarantors will discuss the situation with owners, but we cannot save every company and every vessel.”

Mr Groth said that the number of offshore companies will have to come down and overcapacity needs to be addressed. “The key is burden sharing where there is restructuring, with everyone contributing to solutions.”

Despite these serious challenges Mr Groth stressed that GIEK is still willing to back offshore projects. “We are willing to provide finance for the right projects,” he confirmed.

GIEK is also looking to diversify its portfolio to reduce the dominance of offshore business, including deepsea fish farming and renewable energy projects.

(osjonline)

When Snøhetta was approached to develop and identity for Høyskolen Kristiania it developed a concept that would embrace the school’s holistic focus on the individual rather than education alone. Høyskolen Kristiania is the result of the merger of four Norwegian schools and the new identity was required to establish a strong brand and enhance the school’s competitiveness.

The identity, developed in consultation with staff and students, is based on the concept of transformation as sought inspiration in written language. “The development of what is arguably human kind’s most important innovation, the written language, has made it possible to share knowledge across generations,” says Snøhetta. “Its transformation throughout history up until today’s Latin alphabet became the foundation for the visual identity and the start of the transformation into a unique written language for the school.”

Snøhetta developed a new alphabet that merges typographical forms with graphic patterns. The new typeface has been used on ID cards, T-shirts and business cards as well as signage, printed materials and online. The identity and concept was further expanded fro use by the students so that it forms part of the identity of the student union, with icons and smileys added, to allow for more informal communication. “Because the use of identity is so varied and the surfaces it is applied on ranges from analogue to digital/2D to 3D, we were dependent on developing a system that was simple and adaptable,” say the designers. “With the geometric shapes as the basis of the alphabet the system stays recognisable even in different scales, colour and format – whether it’s wayfinding and interior, printed material, or digital design. Probably the foremost example of the development of the identity yet, is that one of the current students recently tattooed himself using the alphabet. We certainly didn’t see that one coming.”

(itsnicethat)

European lobby group Airlines for Europe (A4E) said it is “astonished” that Norway’s government is pressing ahead with a new airline passenger tax despite evidence that such levies depress demand and weaken both airlines and airports.

A4E said the Norwegian government’s plans to introduce the NOK80 ($9.65) tax on both departing domestic and international passengers this summer will harm Norway’s airline sector and the wider economy.

“According to IATA analysis, the tax risks reducing the overall demand for air transport by 5%, which equals roughly 1.2 million passengers per year,” A4E said in a statement May 26. “In addition, the tax would lead to a reduction in the direct and indirect output of the aviation sector by an estimated NOK 1.4 billion.”

Since its creation in January, A4E—which consists of a mix of major legacy and low-cost carriers—has taken aim at what it says is a rising tide of aviation-related taxes.

“We are astonished about the unwavering approach of the Norwegian authorities on implementing the air passenger tax while almost all comments during the public consultation period contained objections to it,” A4E managing director Thomas Reynaert said. “Instead of preventing economic growth and job creation by imposing unreasonable taxes, European governments should create a supportive regulatory environment.

“Unavoidably, the proposed tax will lead to fewer operators in the Norwegian aviation market and reduced competition.”

A4E said evidence from around Europe shows removing taxes is beneficial to airlines and the wider economy. It pointed to the Dutch government’s removal of a ticket tax in 2009, which it said led to growth in passenger numbers, while the Irish government’s removal of a traffic tax in 2014 led to traffic growth at Irish airports and an 8% increase in tourism last year.

It added that economic analysis by accountancy firm PwC had predicted that removing the UK’s Air Passenger Duty (APD)—one of the highest in the world—would boost UK GDP by 1.7% and create 60,000 new jobs by 2020. Scotland, which has extensive financial autonomy within the UK, plans to cut APD by 50% as a precursor to disposing of it entirely.

(atwonline)