Elsewhere in the ESG arena, investors will be re-calibrating their outlook on the global energy markets, with Russian oil and natural gas now off-limits.
Although the UK is not heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies, which make up 8 per cent of total oil demand and less than 4 per cent of the UK’s natural gas supply respectively, global commodity prices have surged which could have structural implications on long-term supply.
As such, the majority (59 per cent) of investors believe that long-term uncertainty in the energy markets will result in a turn to green metals, nuclear energy and ‘cleaner’ energy stocks in the long term.
That said, half took a more pessimistic view of the current climate, expecting that the conflict will set net-zero goals back in the short term, with investors turning to ‘dirtier’ means of producing energy and fossil fuels. Indeed, it is already expected that the war will drive billions of dollars of new investment for fossil fuels – a very worrying prospect indeed.
While it is unclear at this point in time where the conflict will turn next, a more optimistic read of the investment landscape is that investors remain collected and un-reactive in the eye of the storm, with a healthy degree of wariness.
Giles Coghlan is chief currency analyst at HYCM
