Israeli sovereign fund won’t invest in fossil fuels, says chairman

Money from the exploitation of natural resources invested in a sovereign wealth fund will not be invested in fossil fuel companies, the fund’s chairman tells the Knesset committee that oversees the fund.

Yoram Ariav says a decision was made yesterday to “avoid direct investment” in oil and gas companies.

Asked by committee chairman Meretz MK Mossi Raz if the decision was motivated by ethics or economics, Ariav says he believes that both were taken into consideration.

The Israeli Citizens’ Fund was created to invest expected windfall profits from the discovery of natural gas and other natural resources. It began to operate on June 1 after passing the required income threshold of one billion shekels.

The committee is told that exactly NIS 1,140,000 had entered the fund and had already been converted into $341,927.