Can firearms and environmental subsidies coexist?
Currently, the norm in Germany has been that individuals opting for "sustainable" investment choices steer clear of the arms industry. However, this regulation is starting to show signs of instability. This development leaves investors pondering over several aspects, chief among them being whether it's ethically acceptable to back weapons manufacturers such as Rheinmetall during the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Raimund Brichta, Etienne Bell, and Manfred Wiegel probe into the reasons behind this shift, the criticism it's drawing, and its implications for investment decisions.
Practitioners in the financial sector are now debating whether to include arms trading companies like Rheinmetall within their sustainable investment portfolios, given the escalating conflict in Ukraine. The potential relaxation of the ban on "trade in arms" in German investment choices is a topic of increasing interest among those advocating for ethical investing.
