Norway's Government Pension Fund - Global, formerly known as the National Petroleum Fund, has been criticised for investments in a minig company which is being blamed for damaging the environment in the Philippines.
The Pension Fund has invested NOK 860 million in the Canadian mining company Barrick Gold, which owns the company Place Dome in the Phillipines.
Place Dome is blamed for dumping toxic waste on the Marinduque Island, polluting the environment for the islanders.
Geologists have documented dangrous levels of led, mercury and arsenic in the waste which has been deposited on the shore, polluting the water.
According to the aid organization Oxfam, several children have died from heavy metal poisoning in the area.
Local fishermen and the island authorities have now started legal proceedings against Barrick Gold.
Head of the environmental organization Bellona, Frederic Hauge, says the Pension Fund must withdraw its investments from Barrick Gold.
- This is a company and a place which has been known for its destroyed environment for a long time, Hauge says.
Barrick Gold has refused to take any responsibility for the pollution on Marinduque, despite that fact that a Nevada court has ruled that the company may be held responsible for the damage to the environment on the island.
(NRK)
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