Sunniva Kolostyak: Welcome to Morningstar's Personal Finance Minutes on ESG. Oil is the focal point of the modern world's anxiety of a climate change, geopolitical risk and inflation. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has exposed the West's dependence on fossil fuels and brought a new urgency to the energy transition. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by our dependence on oil and rogue regimes and the impact it's having on the planet. But there are ways to cope with this oil anxiety.
For one, European governments are realizing that where we get our energy from is a key political issue and that well-informed voters will not accept cheaper oil at any price. Fund managers are also responding to investor demand for sustainable funds, and they're launching new sustainable products. Even pension funds are under pressure to make sure their choices align with investors' ethics.
Electric vehicles are here to stay, too. Car makers are reporting record demand ahead of the ban on petrol and diesel car sales at the end of this decade. This has now turned into a race, and Ford is really ramping up efforts to replace Tesla as the biggest EV manufacturer in the world. Plus, oil majors are funding some change to proving that companies like BP and Shell are not immune to outside pressure, either. So, there are some glimmers of hope for the planet.
For Morningstar, I'm Sunniva Kolostyak.