> No amount of divesting is going to accomplish anything. It just makes profitable oil companies a more attractive buy. Are you certain? In a world of high P/E

> No amount of divesting is going to accomplish anything. It just makes profitable oil companies a more attractive buy. Are you certain? In a world of high P/E ratios across the board, profitability is achieved more via appreciation than via dividends. People (e.g. myself) shy away from investing in falling assets, even if their dividend yields are 1% higher than that of the stable or rising asset. Maybe those looking at a 15 year time horizon will see the value and buy despite this, but many people today see it as foolish to try to predict — and therefore invest solely for — 15 years into the future. It’s one of the reasons you don’t see as much short selling as would be maximally profitable in bubbles, for example (eating a couple years of loss and hanging on until the windfall is tough — not just psychologically, but also to your investors who expect consistent returns). I’ve seen arguments both ways though. Perhaps what’s needed at this point is a study, or something with a more formal treatment of the numbers. But without those I don’t think your view should be taken as conclusive.