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One of the World's Biggest Wealth Funds Targets Sustainable Finance

Kuwait’s $700 billion fund has a mandate to prepare the OPEC member state for a post-oil future.

Ships sail beyond the Kuwait water towers in Kuwait.

Ships sail beyond the Kuwait water towers in Kuwait.

Photographer: Yasser al-Zayyat/AFP/Getty Images

Kuwait Investment Authority wants to make its entire portfolio compliant with environmental, social and governance standards, its managing director said, as Gulf nations reliant on crude move toward life after oil.

Kuwait has built up its riches thanks to vast crude exports -- something which puts the engine of its economy at odds with ESG principles. Unlike regional neighbors the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Kuwait hasn’t set a net-zero carbon emissions goal despite recording some of the planet’s hottest temperatures.