A new, broad measure of “energy transition investment”, compiled by BloombergNEF (BNEF), shows that the world committed a record $501.3 billion to decarbonization in 2020, beating the previous year by 9% despite the economic disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. BNEF’s analysis shows that companies, governments and households invested $303.5.
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EELGOOD firms which put the environment, society and corporate governance - the holy trinity dubbed ESG - at the heart of their operations were the big winners to emerge from 2020’s Covid-19 battered economy.
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) which focus their investments on these ethical stocks recovered from the pandemic at a pace and scale which left other sectors standing. Covid was the moment,” one senior investment manager told the Standard. “Covid was the stress test for ESG. Before then, people were cynical, saying ESG was a fair-weather phenomenon. They’d say ’just you wait until the next recession, everyone will hunker back in sovereign bonds.’