A lot has happened in the past two weeks. The invasion of Ukraine looked likely, then unrest in Kazakhstan diverted the world’s attention, and now an invasion is looking likely again. In that period, the unrest spiked the price of uranium. Kazakhstan was responsible for 41 percent of the world’s supply in 2020. Brent also now trades above $87, a level not seen since October 2014.
Despite the calls for green energy, the price of oil clearly incentivises companies to supply it. And whilst other companies look to boost their green credentials, such as Anglo American (AAL) giving Thungela Resources (TGA) back to shareholders, others are happy to hold dirty fossil fuel assets and utilise them as much as possible.
The funny thing about divestment, though, is that a company becoming greener doesn’t necessarily make the world greener. Just because you dump your waste somewhere else doesn’t mean it ceases to exist. Now if we’re talking virtue signalling, then yes, offloading the trash on somebody else’s doorstep works fine. But the real world doesn’t work that way.