Greetings from New York, where a new consumer trend has emerged: checking the AQI (air quality index) via smartphone. Fortunately, my device indicates that the AQI has improved after delivering frightening readings earlier this week, due to wildfires in Canada. On Wednesday, New York experienced the worst air quality of any major world city. The question now is whether the smoke shock will prompt Wall Street and Washington to embrace tougher action on climate change or be seen as a blip. Adaptation measures such as the scramble for home air filters and a surge in “sell my home fast” searches have emerged, echoing with the behavior of wealthy residents of smog-filled emerging markets and the US West Coast. However, there is concern that adaptation among the wealthy may undermine political pressure for mitigation. Meanwhile, ESG news highlights the rising risk of regulatory action on green advertising claims.
Activists in Bristol were surprised to encounter a large poster in the southwestern English city, touting the green credentials of oil group Shell. The poster and a video showcasing Shell’s investments in wind power and electric vehicle charging was ruled as misleading by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). The ASA ruled that the ads gave “the impression that low-carbon energy products comprised a significant proportion of the energy products Shell invested in and sold in the UK in 2022, or were likely to do so in the near future” while bulk of Shell’s business remained in oil and gas. Lawyers suggest that these rulings should be scrutinized by companies considering green claims. The EU is also pushing for a ban on companies using carbon offsets to claim that their products are carbon-neutral. According to Solitaire Townsend, co-founder of sustainability consultancy Futerra, oil companies are attempting to align themselves with renewables to shift public sentiment towards big oil and gas companies and temper political pressure for tougher policies around them.
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