The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Nov. 2, edition that Fitch Ratings says much of the fossil fuel industry may be facing an era of credit downgrades if producers prove too slow to adapt to a low-carbon future. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that oil and gas companies stand out as the most vulnerable issuers in an analysis by Fitch, which sought to gauge how businesses will cope with climate risks such as increasingly stringent emissions regulations. Fitch's models show that more than a fifth of global corporates across regions and sectors face a material risk of a ratings downgrade due to an "elevated" level of climate vulnerability over the coming decade. Half of those issuers are in the oil and gas industry, while coal and utilities also stand out as being particularly exposed to the risk of downgrades, the analysis shows. As well, more than half the global issuers potentially facing downgrades due to climate risk are currently investment grade, according to Fitch, which based its report on a sample of 715 companies. The International Energy Agency estimates global demand for oil will peak this decade. However, other researchers warn that the tide may turn even sooner.