When Investors Care About Causes: Learning from Political Divestiture During Apartheid and the Sudan Crises for the Transition to Renewable Energy via Green Bonds

Abstract

In the wake of historical and political events, stakeholder pressure can trigger shareholders to divest from politically incorrect markets with the goal of accomplishing socio-political change. As a comparative study, this paper reviews political divestiture to provide a theoretical framework for divestiture in the age of global warming. Six studies of political divestiture from Apartheid South Africa were meta-synthesized to find a pattern of stakeholder pressure, political divestiture and corporate endeavors. Some studies suggest a positive, others a negative impact and even no relation of political divestiture and corporate value was reported. The instringent findings are attributed to methodological difficulties. The findings aid in drawing inferences on the transition into renewable energies and implementation of climate stability bonds.