The E for Environment, Social and Governance is fast becoming a dead letter – The Irish Times

Amid a slew of gloomy developments in the business world lately, it’s worth wondering whether the E in Environmental, Social and Governance is becoming something of a dead letter. It certainly looks that way.

Wall Street giants have been lining up lately not to go all out on their environmental initiatives, but then at least deflate expectations and goals.

Last week, analysts at JPMorgan Chase warned that the world needs a “reality check” on climate targets, arguing that efforts to reduce fossil fuel use had been slowed by post-pandemic inflation, higher interest rates and geopolitical unrest . The bank – a leading global financier of fossil fuel projects with US$101 billion ($94 billion) in deals in 2021 and 2022, the Financial Times and Bloomberg said – said more governments were likely will retreat from their ambitious targets due to the higher costs of investments.

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It came just a few months after JPMorgan’s asset management arm withdrew from an investor group aimed at challenging the world’s most carbon-intensive companies to cut emissions. State Street Global Advisors is also cutting ties with the group, while BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, is scaling back its involvement.

Meanwhile, despite numerous high-profile promises, the oil major is “way off course” when it comes to meeting its targets, according to a recent report from think tank Carbon Tracker. Many expect gas and oil production to increase in the coming years in response to rising demand from emerging economies.

Against a backdrop of political uncertainty and key elections on both sides of the Atlantic, it is unclear where the impetus for real change will come from. But with 2024 set to become another of the hottest years on record, the global economy is heading towards climate catastrophe as national governments fail to gain business support.