Oil and gas executives can expect increased pressure on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues fol­lowing the November elections, experts forecast.

That means demands to reduce flaring, carbon footprint and overall environmental impact. Fossil fuel companies also will be under a microscope to demonstrate there is a public good as­sociated with what they do.

That’s not just the forecast of the impact on the industry if former Vice President Joe Biden is elected presi­dent. That’s also the forecast if Pres­ident Donald Trump wins reelection.

“All that’s going to happen re­gardless of who’s elected because that’s coming from the investment community. That’s not coming from politics,” Ken Med­lock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said. “In many ways that’s more powerful than who’s elected because that’s how you get money.”

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