Fossil fuel divestment: the $5 trillion question

Pressure is starting to build for institutional investors to cut their exposure to fossil fuel stocks. But can they find better places to park their cash and is it really at risk?

Divestment campaigners argue that continuing to extract oil, gas and coal is unsustainable if the world is to tackle climate change. Aside from rising environmental concerns, there are also worries that assets might become stranded as governments consider beefing up emissions regulations to help curb global warming. While churches, universities and cities have signed up to starve fossil fuel companies of their cash over the past two years, there are limited viable alternatives for mainstream investors, new research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) shows. With a combined stock market valuation of nearly $5 trillion, oil, gas and coal companies make up one the world’s largest liquid as