Danish pension providers have been urged to stay the course on climate efforts despite growing headwinds, after a survey from Sampension found that the majority of Danes don't want pension companies to slack on climate work.

The survey found that more than two-thirds (68 per cent) of savers agreed that, even when the green transition is threatened, it is important their pension company maintains its climate efforts and contributes to handling climate challenges - including by having a strong focus on lowering CO2 emissions from its investments.

This comes amid a challenging time for climate efforts, as whilst this week saw the start of COP30, climate issues have recently slipped down the global agenda, and headwinds to the green transition are increasing. 

Sampension CEO, Hasse Jørgensen, admitted that "at this time, when we are marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, there is unfortunately no shortage of discouraging news in the climate field". 

"This applies, of course, not least to the increasingly frequent - and frightening - examples of extreme weather," he continued. 

"But at the same time, we also see, among other things, that the Trump administration is consistently trying to put a stop to global climate efforts, just as a number of large companies are scaling back their green ambitions."

However, Jørgensen argued that whilst this is a "sad development that has undoubtedly made the green transition more difficult", it must not slow efforts down. 

"On the contrary, it is more important than ever that we send a signal that the climate is not unimportant and that we are not throwing in the towel. This, of course, also applies to pension companies, and here we very much agree with the Danes," he stated. 

In line with this, he emphasised that Sampension has continued work to reduce the climate footprint of its investments, and will "of course continue this course despite the current headwinds to the green agenda".  

"If we as a society are to succeed with the global climate goals, we need everyone to make their contribution and not to slack off on our efforts. Quite the opposite," Jørgensen said. 

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