Close to 5,000 ESG Funds in Europe Now Hold Oil, Gas and Coal

Almost 5,000 funds marketing themselves as ESG now hold stakes in companies in the fossil-fuel industry, according to a fresh study of the European market by a team of nonprofits.

The study, which is based on an analysis of more than 14,000 European funds claiming to target environmental, social and governance goals, found that well over a third of those funds had together invested more than €123 billion ($134 billion) in companies “actively pushing” projects that expand the production of oil, gas and coal, according to its authors Urgewald and Facing Finance.