La lungimiranza, lo sappiamo, è qualcosa che in Italia non esiste. Il governo norvegese invece non ha speso ad libitum, ma continua a mettere da parte denaro per le generazioni future in due cosiddetti Fondi pensionistici statali, gestiti dal Ministero delle Finanze.[1]
I fondi sono due: il minore (Pension Fund Norway) è utilizzato per investire in attività nel paese, mentre l'altro (Pension Fund Global), il maggiore, in attività di tutto il mondo. Le attività petrolifere sono la principale fonte di finanziamento dei fondi, che oggi ammontano ad una impressionante cifra di circa 300 miliardi di euro. Lo Stato deriva questa ricchezza tassando le compagnie petrolifere, rilasciando nuove licenze per l'esplorazione dei mari, e partecipando con una quota pubblica nella compagnia petrolifera Statoil.[2]
Gli investimenti sono controllati, dal 2004, da un Consiglio etico, che regolarmente emana una serie di guide linea per non investire, ad esempio, in aziende che producono armi. Mi ha colpito la recentissima notizia, del 19 gennaio 2010, della decisione del ministro delle finanze norvegese di escludere 17 compagnie che producono tabacco dagli investimento del Fondo pensione, su indicazione del Consiglio etico.[3]
Insomma, nessuno è perfetto, il petrolio non è un prodotto eco-sostenibile e causa i suoi danni, ma la trasparenza nella gestione norvegese della ricchezza nazionale, la lungimiranza dei politici, possono sicuramente rappresentare un buon esempio per noi e per altri.
Note
[1] http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/Selected-topics/the-government-pension-fund.html?id=1441
[2] http://www.statoil.com/en/Pages/default.aspx
[3] http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/press-center/Press-releases/2010/Tobacco-producers-excluded-from-Government-Pension-Fund-Global.html?id=591449
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This is the first english version of a post on my blog, it will be full of mistakes but better than nothing! :) I'd welcome corrections and advices and, of course, to hear the opinion of norwegians and non-norwegians.
Norway has become one of the most wealthy country in the world in few decades, after the discovery of oil in the 60' on the west coast, in the north sea. Before it used to be a quite poor country, relying on activities like fishing, breeding and some agriculture. But it's not sufficient to discover a natural resource to become a modern country. You also need smart and skilled politicians, and a strong social pact between citizens and state. We can say that Norway today represents what many poor countries in the world could potentially be.
Norway's GDP per capita, that is the value of final goods and services produced in a year divided by the population, is one of the highest in the world. But I'll talk about this argument next time.
Far-sightedness, we know, it's something which doesn't exist in the italian politics. Norwegian governments didn't spend money without limits, but they started to save money for the future generations, building the so-called Governement Pension Funds[1]. The smallest one (Pension Fund Norway) is used to invest in activities and corporations within the country; the biggest one (Pension Fund Global) is used to invest all over the world. Petroleum activities are the main revenues in the funds, that today consist of an impressive amount of around 300 billion euro. Norwegian's State earns this money applying taxes on the oil companies, gaining payment for license to explore, and through the State's interest in the partly state-owned Statoil.[2]
Funds' investments are controlled, since 2004, by an Ethical Council, which regularly publics a set of guidelines to avoid, for example, to invest money in arm's corporations. I was quite impressed when I read a recent news, on the 19th of february 2010, about the decision of norwegian's finance minister to exclude 17 tobacco's companies from the Pension Fund investments, upon direction of the ethical council.[3]
In the end, we can say that no one is perfect, that oil is a non-sustainable resource and cause damages to the environment, but the transparency Norway has in the management of national wealth, and the far-sightedness of politicians, could represent a good example for us and for other countries.
Note
[1] http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/Selected-topics/the-government-pension-fund.html?id=1441
[2] http://www.statoil.com/en/Pages/default.aspx
[3] http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/press-center/Press-releases/2010/Tobacco-producers-excluded-from-Government-Pension-Fund-Global.html?id=591449
