Sweden’s central bank dumps Canada’s Alberta bonds over high emissions

Sweden’s central bank said it had sold off bonds from Western Australia and Queensland, and the oil-rich Canadian province of Alberta, because it felt that greenhouse gas emissions in both countries were too high.

The Riksbank deputy governor, Martin Floden, said the bank would no longer invest in assets from issuers with a large climate footprint, even if the yields were high.

“Australia and Canada are countries that are not known for good climate work. Greenhouse gas emissions per capita are among the highest in the world,” he said in a speech at Orebro University in Sweden.

“As a result of the new investment policy, we sold our holdings of bonds issued by Alberta in the spring. For the same reason, we have recently sold our holdings in bonds issued by the Australian states of Queensland and Western Australia.”