In this memo I discuss a topic which I have been heavily struggling with for a while. It is about whether we should attach a carbon footprint to financial derivatives. Several earlier attempts to get insight in the matter have failed. Also asking Google has not been very helpful. Below I share my thoughts on the matter.
Consider someone named Daniel, who decides to invest in a local farm. The investment is for one year, and after that year Daniel gets his investment back. Given the plans of the farm, Daniel expects to earn a nice positive return, but he knows the return can become negative in case of adverse events. Given the capital structure of the farm, we can calculate that Daniel ‘owns’ 1% of it. In such a situation we would also say that Daniel is responsible for 1% of the greenhouse gas emissions (mostly methane from the cows).
Half a year later, Daniel finds out that his dreamhouse is for sale. Transfer of ownership should take place in half a year, which is around the time the loan for the farm is due. At first, Daniel is incredibly happy, but soon the realization kicks in that he will not have enough money if the investment outcome is disappointing. As the house is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he desperately decides to look for a solution.
Fulfilling a dream
He starts with the most obvious option and asks the farm whether he could already receive his investment back. The farm replies that they used his investment to increase livestock, and that they are not willing to sell any cows at the moment. Therefore, he starts thinking of other ways to fulfil his dream. After drinking many cups of (virtual) coffee with colleagues, he finds someone named Carola able to help him realize his dream. They agree that Carola will get all the profits from Daniel’s investment. Thus, in a good year for the farm, Carola will get all the profits, but in a bad year she needs to make up for the losses.
After formalizing their financial agreement Daniel claims that Carola is now responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions. Daniel states that with transferring the economic exposure of the farm’s business activities to Carola, she is also responsible for the emissions. Carola, on the other hand, is convinced that Daniel remains responsible for 1% of the greenhouse gas emissions, since he has still invested exactly the same amount as before, while she has not invested anything at all. I agree with Carola and let me explain why.
Who ‘owns’ the company
I believe what ultimately matters for carbon accounting is who ‘owns’ a company. All the owners of a company together provide the capital that enables its economic activities and emissions. Suppose, for instance, that Daniel would not have invested at all; then the farm would have less capital, could buy less cows, and hence would have lower emissions. The farm’s emissions are thus directly related to the capital.
On the other hand, transferring the economic exposure from Daniel to Carola has no impact on the financial capital structure of the farm, nor on the amount of cows, and therefore the emissions stay exactly the same. Thus, for the footprint of the farm, it is totally irrelevant whether Daniel or Carola carries the risk. As the emissions are directly related to the total amount of capital, but it is irrelevant who carries the economic exposure, it perfectly makes sense to also attribute footprint based on ownership and not on economic exposure. Therefore, Daniel should remain responsible for the emissions.
I guess you have already noticed that Daniel has hedged his risk using a short position in a forward.1 Consequently, Carola has a long position in the same forward. My story above actually implies that financial derivatives should not have any carbon footprint, as holders of derivatives do not ‘own’ a company.
Danger of greenwashing
Not assigning footprints to derivatives could lead to greenwashing. For instance, the economic exposure of an oil and gas company stock can easily be replicated by a cash position plus a futures position.2 Holding the stock would then result in a high carbon footprint from an energy company, while the replication would result in a low footprint from the cash deposited at a financial company.
Conversely, assigning footprints to derivatives could also enable greenwashing opportunities. Given the large differences in carbon footprint of some large oil giants, almost market neutral long-short futures positions with a large negative carbon exposure can easily be constructed.3
Thus, from a fundamental perspective, derivatives should not have a footprint. However, clear legislation and guidance should be developed on the use of derivatives for green labels to avoid greenwashing.
了解最新的可持續性市場觀點
訂閱我們的電子報，探索塑造可持續投資的趨勢。
免責聲明
本文由荷宝海外投资基金管理(上海)有限公司(“荷宝上海”)编制, 本文内容仅供参考, 并不构成荷宝上海对任何人的购买或出售任何产品的建议、专业意见、要约、招揽或邀请。本文不应被视为对购买或出售任何投资产品的推荐或采用任何投资策略的建议。本文中的任何内容不得被视为有关法律、税务或投资方面的咨询, 也不表示任何投资或策略适合您的个人情况, 或以其他方式构成对您个人的推荐。 本文中所包含的信息和/或分析系根据荷宝上海所认为的可信渠道而获得的信息准备而成。荷宝上海不就其准确性、正确性、实用性或完整性作出任何陈述, 也不对因使用本文中的信息和/或分析而造成的损失承担任何责任。荷宝上海或其他任何关联机构及其董事、高级管理人员、员工均不对任何人因其依据本文所含信息而造成的任何直接或间接的损失或损害或任何其他后果承担责任或义务。 本文包含一些有关于未来业务、目标、管理纪律或其他方面的前瞻性陈述与预测, 这些陈述含有假设、风险和不确定性, 且是建立在截止到本文编写之日已有的信息之上。基于此, 我们不能保证这些前瞻性情况都会发生, 实际情况可能会与本文中的陈述具有一定的差别。我们不能保证本文中的统计信息在任何特定条件下都是准确、适当和完整的, 亦不能保证这些统计信息以及据以得出这些信息的假设能够反映荷宝上海可能遇到的市场条件或未来表现。本文中的信息是基于当前的市场情况, 这很有可能因随后的市场事件或其他原因而发生变化, 本文内容可能因此未反映最新情况,荷宝上海不负责更新本文, 或对本文中不准确或遗漏之信息进行纠正。