##g ’ s real estate management and decisions relating to large real estate investments. the gpfg is a long - term and responsible owner. our work on responsible investment is an integral part of the investment process. as of this year, the council on ethics issues recommendations on company exclusion directly to norges bank. norges bank ’ s executive board will on the basis of these recommendations assess exclusion against other tools in the exercise of ownership. the aim is to establish a unified chain of tools. climate change has been among the focus areas of management since 2006. our work on financial risk as a result of climate change is incorporated in the investment strategy and the financial objectives of the gpfg. the ministry of finance is now working to introduce a new behavioural criterion for companies ’ climate emissions in the guidelines for observation and exclusion. such a criterion must then be managed in line with the highest defined threshold for exclusion. bis central bankers ’ speeches it is important that the overriding principle for norges bank ’ s investment management continues to be that the gpfg is a responsible investor with a financial objective. if the gpfg is increasingly used as an instrument for pursuing objectives other than financial ones, it may reduce the clarity of the gpfg ’ s role as a financial investor. if the gpfg investment scope is subject to considerable restrictions, it may entail increased risk or lower returns. the management of the gpfg has been successful to date. the total return since the establishment of the gpfg amounts to more than nok 2 500 billion, or about 40 percent of gpfg capital. through its management, norges bank will continue to promote its overriding objective : to safeguard the fund ’ s assets over time. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

other norwegian export goods. monetary policy has also influenced the path for norway ’ s relative costs, but the nominal value of the krone is about the same as 10 years ago. strong growth in public expenditure and expectations of moderately higher growth in the use of petroleum revenues now seem to have been factored into the cost level. over the past 30 years manufacturing has been scaled back in waves. the last wave occurred around the turn of the millennium, but a substantial decline also occurred in the period 1977 to 1984 and from 1987 to 1992. prior to these periods, the manufacturing sector ’ s competitiveness deteriorated. the usefulness of a fiscal rule is that it gives weight to long - term considerations when addressing day - to - day economic policy challenges. the fiscal rule stabilises enterprises ’ expectations concerning competitiveness and the krone exchange rate. this can prevent abrupt and pronounced swings in the structure of the economy. if the government authorities disregard the rule, enterprises will lose an important reference. a policy rule can make matters worse if economic agents have drawn up long - term plans on a faulty basis. 3 both short - term and long - term considerations imply that the use of petroleum revenues as a share of the petroleum fund should be curbed ahead. the norwegian economy is growing at a brisk pace. the public sector has invested heavily in the care of the elderly, which should cover the needs of a generation that was born just after world war i. the need for growth in public expenditure will be more moderate in the coming years and marked by the small cohorts of the 1930s and war years, who are now joining the ranks of the elderly. moreover, the national insurance scheme, introduced in 1967, is nearing maturity. in addition, a few years remain before the large post - war cohorts retire and add to the demand for health services. hence, the conditions are now conducive to returning to the use of 4 per cent of the petroleum fund. the current cost level in the norwegian business sector is adapted to an expansion of the petroleum sector and a steady phasing - in of petroleum revenues into the mainland economy. costs rose sharply from the mid - 1960s to the mid - 1970s and reached a very high level. in subsequent years, costs have varied around this level. after a period, we will be able to cover a smaller share of our imports using current petroleum revenues and drawings on the petroleum fund. competitiveness must then have to be improved. it may have to be