Worries Build Among Investors Over Oil and Gas Industry's Exposure to Water and Climate Risks

From:  Truth Out 

Friday, 30 October 2015 00:00 
 By Sharon Kelly, DeSmogBlog | News Analysis 

(Photo: Oil Pollution via Shutterstock)  

When it comes to financial risks surrounding water, there is one industry that, according to a new report, is both among the most exposed to these risks and the least transparent to investors about them: the oil and gas industry.

This year, 1,073 of the world's largest publicly listed companies faced requests from institutional investors concerned about the companies' vulnerability to water-related risks that they disclose their plans for adapting and responding to issues like drought or water shortages.

Many of those companies responded by reporting their information to a group called CDP, which works with over 800 institutional investors with assets of US$95 trillion to push for corporate transparency. But in the oil and gas industry, the compliance rate was just over half the average, with only 22% of companies providing information, CDP reported.

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