Talk is Cheap: Towards Active State Ownership in the Fossil Fuel Industry: Medium

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"SOEs should seek to fulfill social and environmental objectives, beyond profit maximization and the economic rationale of minimizing the risk of stranded assets."

"The combustion of fossil fuels for energy is by far the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and the energy sector will need change in order for long-term de-carbonization to succeed. So, it is disappointing that there has been little concrete climate action from the fossil fuel industry, despite commitments to the Paris Agreement."


"This is not due to growing moral consciousness in the financial industry, but mainly due to a stronger link between climate change and investment performance. Climate change does not only present an impact risk by itself, but also presents fossil fuel companies with a transition risk through probable changes in policy, market, reputation and technology. Yet, while the energy transition will continue as the global community is recognizing the need to reduce emissions, oil and gas companies continue to invest in fossil fuel assets. These assets can be left unexploited or decline in value due to actions to reduce climate change, turning these assets into “stranded assets.” Stranded assets will have lower value than was originally expected by the company and its shareholders, and is often not reflected in companies’ risk management policies."

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#strandedassets  #climateaction  #stateownedenergycompanies  #Parisagreement  # greenhousegases