Storebrand starts $1.3 billion fossil-free bond fund

OSLO (Reuters) - Storebrand, Norway's biggest private pension fund, launched a $1.3 billion (975 million pounds) fossil-fuel-free bond programme on Tuesday and urged investors to do more to curb climate change.

The bond fund adds to $2.1 billion equity funds run by Storebrand which also have no investments in fossil fuels. In total, Storebrand has a total $80 billion worth of assets under management.

"We're building a track record in managing these low-carbon solutions," Jan Erik Saugestad, CEO of Storebrand Asset Management, told Reuters, saying they were also reducing Storebrand's overall exposure to oil and gas.

"We aim to inspire others to follow suit", he said.

The new fund, Storebrand Global Kreditt IG, will be invested mainly in corporate bonds issued by financial institutions and industrial companies in developed nations, it said.

French President Emmanuel Macron will host a summit in Paris on Tuesday seeking to bolster action on climate change two years to the day since almost 195 nations adopted a landmark accord in the French capital to limit global warming.

(Reporting By Alister Doyle; Editing by Gareth Jones)