Want a greener world? Don’t dump oil stocks

Want a greener world? Don’t dump oil stocks

If you are a nice person you won't hold shares in any companies involved in fossil fuels or mining.

Their activities are dirty, environmentally unsound and that's that. You can't believe the planet is in trouble and also hold businesses involved in creating that trouble. End of. This is certainly the view of Friends of the Earth.

The group has recently produced research showing that British local government pension funds have almost £10bn invested in "climate wrecking companies“ “” even though many councils have expressed fears of a "climate emergency.“

Shocking. Or is it? Might, just might, there be another way of looking at this, one that is just a bit hard to hear over the cacophony of ostentatious do-goodery?

The first question to ask is exactly what divesting “” selling shares in "bad“ companies of this sort “” achieves. I'd venture nothing good. Sure, it makes it harder for firms that might want to raise new money via the equity markets and, if the generalised disapproval makes banks wary too, it might raise the cost of debt too. But for firms already chucking out cash, it makes no difference at all “” and certainly none to current oil and gas production.

When you sell