The Mind-blowing Guys causing Mind-blowing problems by pumping Mind-blowing Money into Fossil Fuel

In 2021, New York Times came up with a report that said the private equity sector invested at least one trillion, one hundred billion dollars in the fossil fuel industry since 2010, double the combined market value of Exxon, Chevron, and Royal Dutch Shell, with only about twelve percent of investments in the energy sector going to renewable power.

In 2022, a report emerged that governments provided over $1.7 trillion in public money to strengthen the fossil fuel industry, ignoring the fact that 91 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions originated from fossil fuels.

In April, a report indicated that over 6,500 investors held bonds and shares worth a total of $3.05 trillion in fossil fuel companies, Vanguard and BlackRock the biggest investors, accounting for seventeen percent of all investments.

These reports show that apart from the $6.9 trillion that went into fossil fuel financing through the world’s largest private banks since the Paris agreement in 2015, other sectors made investments into it, including export credit agencies, corporate bond companies, venture capital firms, hedge fund businesses, and others.

Twenty-three investors held 50 percent of the total institutional investments in fossil fuel companies, 18 of them based in the United States, with Life Insurance Corporation of India and public pension and investment funds of Japan, Qatar, Norway, and Saudi Arabia comprising the rest of the non-U.S. institutions.

Eight major private equity companies ranked among the worst offenders among investors in the fossil fuel sector, managing a combined $3.6 trillion asset, including about $216 billion in energy projects, an amount on par with the world’s five biggest banks in 2021.

Governments across the world played a huge role in financing the fossil fuel sector, providing subsidies reaching seven trillion dollars in 2022, with investments by state-owned enterprises in G-20 countries contributing $350 million, lending by public financial institutions by G-7 countries and multilateral development banks hitting around $22 billion.

Apart from governments, private equity companies, and institutional investors, the G-20 export credit agencies provided around $33.5 billion from 2019 to 2021, while huge amounts come from venture capital and hedge fund companies.

Private equity firms with high fossil fuel portfolios correlate with those becoming financiers of fossil fuel projects, when banks, utilities, and other public companies offload fossil fuel assets, with for instance ArcLight Capital Partners, a private equity firm, buying 13 fossil fuel power plants from the New Jersey-based utility, PSEG.

Institutional investors with a high fossil fuel spending correlate with those who plan to do nothing even close to what is needed to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, since they enjoy a share of the four-trillion-dollar earnings of the fossil fuel sector, from an average of $1.5 trillion in recent years.

Nations with high fossil fuel subsidies correlate with those bringing greater carbon dioxide emissions, since they emit about 11.4 percent more emissions than high-tax countries, while their spend on subsidizing fossil fuel comes many times over what they agreed to bring annually under the Paris arrangement.

So while big banks seem visible as financiers of the fossil fuel sector, others such as institutional investors, governments, and private equity share blame in the worsening global warming albatross, along with hedge fund, venture capital, and export credit agencies, and their investments correlate with global warming.

Renewable energy capacity added to energy systems around the world expanded by 50 percent in 2023, hitting around 519 gigawatts, with solar power responsible for seventy-five percent of the figure on a worldwide basis.

Renewable energy capacity growth around the world between 2023 to 2028 could reach 7,300 GW, with solar and wind power to be responsible for 95 percent of the growth.

Renewable energy capacity for solar power by 2050 could surpass 4.6 terawatts, with wind power hitting around 2.3 terawatts.

Institutional investors, governments, and private equity could provide a solution by accelerating renewable energy capacity  and discarding their current role in fossil fuel financing, working in concert with fellow polluters like big banks, hedge fund firms, venture capital companies, corporate bond bodies, development banks, and export credit agencies.

What to Eat

Vegan food from Mauritius, Credit, Restaurants.Mu