The paper claims that government regulation limiting the adoption of ESG "distorts financial market outcomes." Companies turning to coal as an alternative to a diminishing supply of Russian gas may face a hit to their ESG ratings, as major European investors say they will not relax their investment principles of reaching net zero targets on greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 despite an energy crisis following sanctions on Russia. MSCI executive director of climate change investment research Sylvain Vanston said, "When your emissions go up, all other things being equal, you are in more trouble from a ratings perspective… if you come up with a fantastic new commitment, that could counterbalance it." BlackRock's Investment Stewardship group released the firm's 2022 proxy voting spotlight, noting that it voted in favor of just 24% of environmental and social shareholder proposals in the latest proxy-voting year – compared to 43% in 2021.