Litigation, polyester and greenhushing: myth-busting green finance

CLIMATE change is a worldwide, divisive and dynamically evolving subject. Its measurement by environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria, in finance at least, is controversial and still in its infancy.

Lebanese-British, Singapore-based climate entrepreneur Assaad Razzouk has written 28 short critical essays to expose its clichés, prejudices and misconceptions, ranging from a critique of law firms in Sue the Bastards to The ESG Con, a similar hatchet job on the non-measurability of the ‘E’ in ESG.

Climate change is an area involving numerous disciplines – science, biology, botany and finance. In his book Saving the Planet Without the Bullshit, Razzouk steers clear of the technical side, but covers a range of financial areas, including banking, insurance, bitcoin, green bonds and “never buy carbon offsets”. His chosen mode is contrarian.