How should short selling account for carbon? Does selling short impact cost of capital or engagement ? My friend Jason Mitchell discusses various views and in particular how regulators have started to think about carbon accounting with hedge funds.

We started talking about this in a podcast a while ago (link end), and you can now read some collected thoughts in the paper which is now publicly available.

Summary:
- Sustainable finance regulation has largely overlooked alternatives, particularly hedge funds, given the greater complexity of strategies and asset classes. However, regulators are now expanding their scope to recognize the role that hedge funds can play in #sustainable finance.

- The role of short selling in sustainable finance, especially in a net zero context, has been increasingly discussed and debated among regulators, market participants, investor initiatives, investor trade organizations, and #ESG data providers. There is a concern that hedge funds may, intentionally or unintentionally, employ short selling to misrepresent their real-world impact, which is distinct from exposure to financial risk.

- Short selling can affect the cost of capital and engagement as channels of influence on corporate behavior. However, there are nuances that should be considered, namely the efficacy of short selling among different asset classes to affect the cost of capital, the time-varying aspect of short selling, and the limitations that short sellers face when engaging corporates.

- UK, US, and EU regulators have each signaled their leaning in different manners. The EU, as the regulator with the most mature regulatory framework, appears to establish a compromise that balances safeguards against greenwashing with the mechanics of portfolio management and reporting.

Download paper here.

Podcast with Jason here.