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The financial impact of fossil fuel divestment

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  • Auke Plantinga
  • Bert Scholtens

Abstract

The fossil fuel divestment movement tries to increase awareness about the need for climate action and heralds divestment from fossil fuel producers as a means to combat climate change. Financial investors are increasingly showing interest in the non-financial impact of companies they invest in, i.e. responsible investing. However, they also want to be assured of sufficient returns and limited risks to support the living costs of their ultimate beneficiaries. In this context, we investigate the impact of divestment and the transition of the energy system on investment performance. We rely on an international sample of almost seven thousand companies and study a period of forty years. Further, we investigate scenarios with very different pathways to the transition of the energy system. We find that the investment performance of portfolios that exclude fossil fuel production companies does not significantly differ in terms of risk and return from unrestricted portfolios. This finding holds even under market conditions that would benefit the fossil fuel industry. We conclude that divesting from fossil fuel production does not result in financial harm to investors, even when fossil fuels continue to play a dominant role in the energy mix for some time.Key policy insights Financing the exploration and exploitation of fossil fuel resources is increasingly being regarded as controversial, leading to divestment from this industry.Fossil fuel divestment does not seem to significantly harm financial investors and is not at odds with the fiduciary duty of institutional investors. This paves the way for more extensive initiatives to promote fossil fuel divestment.A smooth energy transition will most likely erode the profitability of fossil fuel firms and their ability to invest. Therefore, governments cannot rely on the fossil fuel industry to finance the energy transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Auke Plantinga & Bert Scholtens, 2021. "The financial impact of fossil fuel divestment," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(1), pages 107-119, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:tcpoxx:v:21:y:2021:i:1:p:107-119
    DOI: 10.1080/14693062.2020.1806020
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    Cited by:

    1. Cortez, Maria Céu & Andrade, Nuno & Silva, Florinda, 2022. "The environmental and financial performance of green energy investments: European evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Skare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Sinkovic, Dean, 2023. "Regional aspects of financial development and renewable energy: A cross-sectional study in 214 countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1142-1157.
    3. Moses Msiska & Alex Ng & Randall K. Kimmel, 2021. "Doing well by doing good with the performance of United Nations Global Compact Climate Change Champions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Darlene Himick, 2023. "When Aging and Climate Change Are Brought Together: Fossil Fuel Divestment and a Changing Dispositive of Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-15, March.
    5. Abid, Ilyes & Benlemlih, Mohammed & El Ouadghiri, Imane & Peillex, Jonathan & Urom, Christian, 2023. "Fossil fuel divestment and energy prices: Implications for economic agents," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 1-16.
    6. Wilson, Christian & Caldecott, Ben, 2023. "Investigating the role of passive funds in carbon-intensive capital markets: Evidence from U.S. bonds," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    7. Naef, Alain, 2022. "Shareholder engagement for climate change: Lessons from the ExxonMobil vs Engine No.1 proxy battle," SocArXiv 3b5d4, Center for Open Science.
    8. Rahat, Birjees & Nguyen, Pascal, 2022. "Risk-adjusted investment performance of green and black portfolios and impact of toxic divestments in emerging markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    9. Dahlström, Petter & Lööf, Hans & Sahamkhadam, Maziar & Stephan, Andreas, 2023. "Science-based emission targets and risk-adjusted portfolio return: An analysis using global SBTi-validated stocks," Working Paper Series in Economics and Institutions of Innovation 492, Royal Institute of Technology, CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies.
    10. Louis Daumas, 2021. "Should we fear transition risks - A review of the applied literature," Working Papers 2021.05, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    11. Michał Bernardelli & Zbigniew Korzeb & Paweł Niedziółka, 2022. "Does Fossil Fuel Financing Affect Banks’ ESG Ratings?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, February.
    12. Théophile Anquetin & Guillaume Coqueret & Bertrand Tavin & Lou Welgryn, 2022. "Scopes of carbon emissions and their impact on green portfolios," Post-Print hal-04144612, HAL.
    13. Anquetin, Théophile & Coqueret, Guillaume & Tavin, Bertrand & Welgryn, Lou, 2022. "Scopes of carbon emissions and their impact on green portfolios," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    14. Yevheniia Antoniuk, 2023. "The effect of climate disclosure on stock market performance: Evidence from Norway," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 1008-1026, April.
    15. Yeltsin Tafur & Eric Lilford & Roberto F. Aguilera, 2022. "Assessing the risk of foreign investment within the petroleum sector of South America," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(6), pages 1-32, June.
    16. Imane El Ouadghiri & Mathieu Gomes & Jonathan Peillex & Guillaume Pijourlet, 2022. "Investor Attention to the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement and Stock Returns," Post-Print hal-03549713, HAL.

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