Shorting Counts As a Way to Offset Carbon Consumption
Cliff Asness
AQR Capital Management
February 25, 2022
(Allie Joseph/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
Man Group recently wrote an op-ed titled “Short-selling does not count as a carbon offset.” Of course we agree it doesn’t. But the headline is quite misleading if taken to mean shorting has no role in the fight to reduce carbon emissions. Shorting does exactly what it’s supposed to do – raise the cost of capital to the emitters, even more so than divestment.