Message #2901

[RWE]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/sep/24/norway-ethical-oil-environment-arms

----Yet socialist-led Norwaygovernment's pension fundits portfolio is more like a dirty list of the world's worst corporations, including numerous oil, mining and agribusiness corporations criticised for their human rights record and environmental impacts. The fund also invests in half a dozen tax havens-----

----Even worse is policy on oil. Norway is the world's third largest exporter of oil and gas, which provide more than a third of government revenues. Last year, when the doubling of world oil prices plunged millions of people in developing countries into poverty, oil revenues boosted government coffers by 17 times the value of Norway's overseas aid. StatoilHydro, 67% owned by the government, operates in several countries accused of corruption and dire human rights records-----

-----On the environment, Norway's benign image is also removed from reality. True, nearly all domestic electricity comes from hydroelectric plants and Norway was one of the first to adopt a carbon tax to address global warming, in 1991. Yet with 0.1% of the world's population, Norway emits 0.3% of greenhouse gas emissions; if oil exports are included, the figure may be about 2% Norway's weapons sales have tripled since 2000used by the US and Britain during the invasion of Iraq---