An ESG Backlash Erupts in Europe on World's Strictest Rules
As valuations and competitiveness are hit, companies are crying foul and saying the US is addressing the climate issue better.
The Northern Lights carbon capture and storage project, controlled by Equinor ASA, Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, in Blomoyna, Norway.
Photographer: Andrea Gjestvang/BloombergFor TotalEnergies SE Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne, the difference in the performance of his company’s stock and that of Exxon Mobil Corp., the largest US producer of oil and gas, is in no small part explained by an acronym: ESG.
Exxon’s aggressive oil and gas strategy has been rewarded by investors, with its shares more than doubling in the past three years. For Europe’s second-biggest oil company, in contrast, pressure on the region’s asset managers to invest using environmental, social and governance standards has capped gains and prompted Pouyanne to flirt with the idea of listing shares in the US.