Past event
Energy Cafe -- Moral or Pragmatic? The Case of ESG Presented by Dr Aina Begim
Sustainable investments have seen tremendous growth in recent years as investors have sought to incorporate Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues into financial analysis and risk management. 2021 was a record year for sustainable investments with the inflow of $120 billion into these funds, more than double the amount in 2020. This ESG fervor, however, has rapidly declined in recent months as ESG investments tumbled following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and subsequent rise in oil prices. “Doing well by doing good” no longer seems to describe ESG investments. Meanwhile, ESG has become a subject of ferocious critique by a wide range of actors from American conservatives to Big Tech to current and former ESG finance insiders.
In this Energy Café, Aina Begim, economic anthropologist and Associate Professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, will discuss the promise and appeal of ESG, the problems and confusion plaguing the ESG space, and the unresolved conflict between morality and pragmatism deep at the heart of the ESG finance revolution.
We hope you can join us at this event!