There's a new federal government, in case you haven't heard, and talk of the town is that it could be a positive for those ASX companies tied up in the renewables space.
New Prime Minister and Labor leader Anthony Albanese has promised a 43% reduction in carbon emissions by the year 2030 relative to 2005 levels.
With that backdrop in mind, it's prudent to check in and see how ASX renewable energy shares have tracked in May.
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Green shares are in the red
Whilst there's no specific set of indices covering the ESG or renewables segment in Australia, ETFs tracking the sector have stumbled hard in 2022.
The Vaneck MSCI Australian Sustainable Equity ETF (ASX: GRNV) has fallen around 6% this month and is down 12% this year to date.
Whereas the Russell Investments Australian Responsible Investment ETF (ASX: RARI) slipped by roughly half that amount in May.
On the individual level, renewable energy players such as Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT) have taken a knock in May, trading 3% down month to date.
Meanwhile, other tickers in the space including Genesis Energy Ltd (ASX: GNE) and Hazer Group Ltd (ASX: HZR) have slipped by 5% and 13% this month to date respectively.
It's all relative though, as Einstein might say. Comparing to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), each of these names – plus ETFs tracking the sector – are trailing the benchmark.
The month to date returns for May in each of these vehicles are plotted on the chart below.
