Swedish pension fund drops TotalEnergies amid rising EACOP risks – EnviroNews

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On Wednesday, December 10, 2025, AP7, the largest pension fund in Sweden, was reported to have updated its annual exclusions and, in their latest review, made the decision to drop TotalEnergies alongside 35 other companies, citing climate-related risks and human rights concerns.

AP7’s decision follows a growing pattern among long-term investors who have assessed TotalEnergies’ involvement in EACOP and chosen to step away. The StopEACOP Coalition, a group focused on stopping the actualisation of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), says it has observed more than 50 investors excluding or avoiding financing TotalEnergies’ projects in recent years, many of them citing the EACOP project.

“It’s not just consequential investors pulling away from TotalEnergies projects on the continent; governments too are finding investments in TotalEnergies’ fossil fuels extremely risky, as exemplified by the recent decision of the UK and the Netherlands to pull out of TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG project at the last minute. The UK, in particular, overturned more than $1 billion due to increased project risks since 2020.

“Looking at the shift in investor behaviour and diminishing government appetite, if the examples above are anything to go by, this points to a broader reality: EACOP is being rejected because it makes no sense financially, reputationally nor morally for financial institutions and investors interested in sustainable investments,” the group said in a statement endorsed by Abiud Onyach|, its Digital and Communications Lead.

StopEACOP added that, for long-term investors, the EACOP project is increasingly being assessed as a material risk rather than a viable asset. It noted that decisions by major pension funds and asset managers to exclude or restrict TotalEnergies reflect concerns around stranded assets, legal exposure, reputational damage, and the growing gap between fossil fuel expansion and climate-aligned investment mandates.

“This is not a values-based judgment but a risk calculation, and the direction of capital is making that clear,” StopEACOP stressed, adding:

“Despite repeated claims that the project represents development and economic opportunity, the growing list of investors walking away reflects the true story of EACOP, as told directly by thousands of impacted people in Uganda and Tanzania. A story of unprecedented violations of human rights exemplified by the weaponisation of the judiciary, which has seen Ugandan youths spend more than three months in jail unnecessarily for voicing opposition to EACOP.

“A story of the displacement of thousands of people and putting ecosystems at risk. A story of big oil lining their pockets while leaving communities impoverished and their governments saddled with debts and stranded assets. This reality is becoming a liability for EACOP’s financial backers.

“We, therefore, urge banks and insurers still backing EACOP, including Standard Bank, South Africa, KCB Bank Uganda, and Stanbic Bank Uganda, to take note. When pension funds, asset managers, and governments step back, it is a warning, not a coincidence.

“The market is speaking clearly. Accountability is catching up. And the costs of continuing down this path are becoming impossible to ignore. The responsible choice is for the financial backers to withdraw. If TotalEnergies insists on advancing this harmful project, investors too have a responsibility to divest from the company altogether.”