An oil major, a hedge fund and the climate crisis

Abstract In this article I set out how activist hedge funds act as parallel sources of policy without accountability. I explore how these funds have encouraged fossil fuel companies to increase oil and gas production, invest in future capacity and reduce investment in the transition to renewables and alternative energy. Having first set out what a hedge fund is, what an activist hedge fund is and the scale at which some funds act (giving some indication of their positional power), I examine Elliott Management’s campaign against the oil major BP.