For all the overheated
rhetoric around the federal government’s carbon pricing system, Tertzakian
leads his list with a carbon price of a different sort. He calls it the
“financier’s carbon tax,” noting that “large institutional investors like
pension funds are putting stringent Environmental, Social and Governance, or
ESG, principles into their investing criteria. Some have entire teams policing
compliance. Many big funds won’t put money into companies unless they
demonstrate mitigation of carbon emissions below a threshold. Some are
jettisoning their oil and gas investments altogether to bring down portfolio
emissions. This ESG trend is gaining momentum, is not unique to Canada, and
puts a de facto carbon tax on the industry’s cost of new capital.”
rhetoric around the federal government’s carbon pricing system, Tertzakian
leads his list with a carbon price of a different sort. He calls it the
“financier’s carbon tax,” noting that “large institutional investors like
pension funds are putting stringent Environmental, Social and Governance, or
ESG, principles into their investing criteria. Some have entire teams policing
compliance. Many big funds won’t put money into companies unless they
demonstrate mitigation of carbon emissions below a threshold. Some are
jettisoning their oil and gas investments altogether to bring down portfolio
emissions. This ESG trend is gaining momentum, is not unique to Canada, and
puts a de facto carbon tax on the industry’s cost of new capital.”
Another key factor, he says,
is that “peak oil has peaked,” with the perception of abundant, cheap oil and
gas from United States shale fields drawing investors away from other
production options—including Alberta.