Zhang Puyu

Carbon neutrality is one of the key messages of the concept of sustainable development and the ESG agenda, which form the basis of a new institutional economic environment. Countries’ rethinking of decarbonisation and carbon neutrality at the global level af ects international climate and green standards/ legislation, international trade, and international institutions. However, the question remains how the carbon-neutral agenda will evolve during economic crises. T e paper therefore aims to assess the positive and negative ef ects of the carbon-neutral agenda in the global economy and in individual countries, as well as its prospects for further development. In order to realise the objective of this article, the positive and negative aspects of the transition to carbon neutrality, the actions of states to implement environmental strategies until 2022 were analysed, and an attempt was made to forecast the further development of ESG strategies in the f eld of decarbonisation and carbon neutrality. It was found that the positive side of carbon neutrality reduces to investment attractiveness of the company and its products, addressing environmental concerns, technological development and the emergence of new markets. T e downside is that the transition to carbon neutrality is more political than environmental. T e ESG agenda will also increase transaction and administrative costs for all market participants. As for the prospects for the implementation of the ESG agenda in 2022, f rstly, it can be assumed that the process will slow down. Due to sanctions, national security, including in the energy sector, comes f rst. At the same time, at the same time as the ESG agenda slows down, it becomes more relevant as alternative energy sources will help countries achieve energy security, while addressing environmental issues will only help intensify investments in this area. Moreover, the relevance of the ESG agenda has not changed: there remains a demand for it from people in developed countries.