Could the Law Finally Be Catching up With Climate Culprits?

Oil and gas companies appear to have the wind in their sails. Forecasts that demand for their products will remain strong for decades to come have re-emerged from the shadows. Climate denialism is in the ascendent. But are the business models of fossil fuel companies any more resilient now than they were two years ago when we last wrote an article on this topic for GARP? 

How Did We Get Here?

Five years ago, fossil fuels seemed to be on the way out. The world was broadly in agreement on the self-evident importance of reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to limit the destructive impacts of climate change. Oil company executives were flocking to pledge allegiance to the goals of the Paris Agreement. Many, perhaps a majority, acknowledged that demand for oil and gas would have to fall significantly, if not by 2030 as urged by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, then certainly by 2040 or 2050.

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