- Green stimulus and energy transition hopes supercharge share prices
- European carbon price set to climb as cap and trade system expands
Polluters are crying out for more regulation. Miners want tighter environmental, social and governance (ESG) certification. Oil and gas companies are calling for carbon cap and trade systems. While such ambitions may help to set a level playing field – perhaps seeing European oil companies get a competitive advantage against their climate laggard US competitors – this kind of carrot-and-stick regulation is already proving a major earner for green companies. Investors have flocked to the likes of wind-exposed utility Orsted (Den:ORSTED), while oil and gas majors are trading near record lows.
As more countries announce net zero carbon emission goals – Japan being the latest – more government support is likely to come for technologies that replace major sources of pollution, like renewable energy, and balance out necessary carbon emissions.