Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the body managing Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, has called on the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to balance scientific integrity with practical implementation to encourage broader corporate participation in climate action.
Responding to SBTi’s ongoing consultation, NBIM’s Chief Governance and Compliance Officer, Carine Smith Ihenacho, and Head of Environmental Team, Active Ownership, Eivind Fliflet, highlighted growing concerns that the initiative’s increasingly complex and prescriptive standards could hinder its effectiveness.
“As a long-term investor, we expect companies to align with the Paris Agreement and commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner,” the pair noted. “We value SBTi’s role in providing a credible framework but are seeing mounting challenges in implementing and verifying science-based targets.”
NBIM warned that the current direction—expanding SBTi’s scope to include transition plans, fossil fuel policies, and enforcement mechanisms—could deter companies from adopting the framework, particularly in high-emission sectors where methodologies are still evolving.
The asset manager urged SBTi to refocus on its core function of verifying targets and to simplify its standards, warning that an “overly complex” and “prescriptive” 100-page draft risks discouraging adoption. “Widespread adoption, not technical perfection, should be the benchmark of success,” said Smith Ihenacho and Fliflet.
They further suggested that holding companies accountable for progress should fall to regulators, auditors, investors, and civil society, rather than to SBTi itself. NBIM also advocated for a more flexible approach than requiring strict 1.5°C alignment, arguing that overly ambitious targets could reduce real-world action.
“Unrealistic ambitions foster less action, not more,” they wrote, urging SBTi to support “different levels of ambition” that still promote climate progress.
NBIM concluded that while scientific rigour is essential, achieving large-scale emissions coverage through practical, implementable standards is critical for meaningful global impact.
