With a new global agreement on climate change gaveled into the history books in Paris tonight, many people including me believe we have just witnessed the end of the fossil fuelย era.
So-called โpure playโ fossil fuel companies that have not significantly diversified into other areas of energy production will be huddled in boardrooms this coming week trying to figure out what the Paris Agreement means to their bottomย line.ย
Your guess is as good as mine what will happen given how fickle global commodity markets can be, but here are five stocks to watch this coming week to get a good idea of how the energy market is reacting to the Parisย Agreement:
1. Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU). This US-based pure play coal company has already taken a beating, but will likely drop even lower this comingย week:
2. BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP). Another large coal company, this one headquarted inย Australia:
3. Suncor Energy Inc. (TSE: SU). The second largest Canadian company by market cap, this company mainly deals in the extraction of Canada’s carbon-instesive oil sands. While Suncor’s stock is pretty healthy and not as prone to wild fluctuations, it will be interesting to watch how markets view the Canadian oils sands on Mondayย morning.ย
4. Arch Coal (NYSE: ACI). This pure play American coal company is already on the rocks and the Paris Agreement may be the clincher that sees them removed from the New York Stockย Exchange.
5. First Solar (NASDAQ: FSLR). On the flip side of the Paris Agreement are the renewable energy players. While I suspect the bounce up for renewables will be slower than the drop in the fossil fuel sector, I think it will be interesting to watch for anย effect.
And of course we’ll be watching the Big Oil companies, especially ExxonMobil which is facing intense scrutiny for its role in delaying this very day through its campaign to sow doubt through fundingย climate denial organizations and individuals.
Image credit: The Historyย Bank
