Document summary
Despite mounting evidence that climate change requires a shift towards a low carbon economy, hydrocarbon demand is on the rise. Oil and gas producers continue to push offshore projects into unconventional, deeper and colder frontiers, driven primarily by the need to secure future oil and gas reserves in a landscape dominated by national oil companies. Hydrocarbons produced in deep and Arctic waters are conventional, however, their extraction requires the use of unconventional methods that can cause adverse environmental and social impacts and generate controversy. In this report, Sustainalytics outlines the impacts and risks associated with deepwater and offshore Arctic hydrocarbon development. The report also analyses how responsible investors through their numbers and influence can engage with oil and gas producers and encourage innovation, as well as the adoption and the ongoing development of best practices.