Source: Swiss Info
In Lausanne this week, climate activists won a first battle against financial institutions investing in fossil fuels. The environmentalists’ targets include not only private banks like Credit Suisse, but also the Swiss National Bank (SNB). The SNB has accumulated foreign exchange reserves of more than CHF800 billion ($830 billion) and is now one of the world’s leading institutional investors. It contributes to the prosperity of the Alpine nation and its inhabitants not only through its monetary policy, but also through its billion-dollar profits, part of which are paid out each year to federal and cantonal authorities. However, not everyone agrees with how the central bank generates profits. For example, more than 100,000 people have signed a people’s initiative that wants to ban the SNB and pension funds from investing in companies that produce war materiel. For climate activists, however, the bank’s participation in the fossil fuel market is most problematic. According …
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