Even as oil rallies back above $60 a barrel, obituaries are being drafted. Oil majors face questions from shareholders concerned the threat of climate change means some of the reserves underpinning the companies will never be produced. In a recent report, HSBC urged investors to plan for this risk of “stranded assets.”

The risk is real—and doesn’t just boil down to efforts to curb climate change.

One warning: Saudi Arabia’s decision to keep pumping despite the drop in oil prices. Apart from taking market share back from higher-cost rivals, the country’s oil minister has indicated concern about long-term demand in the face of technological and regulatory threats.

Almost 1,400 climate policies had been enacted globally by 2013, according to the International Energy Agency, up from less than 200 in 2005. Meanwhile, although electric vehicles remain a tiny part of the global car market, they have grown phenomenally from virtually zero only five years ago.

One argument against such concerns is that oil-company valuations largely reflect the value of proven oil-and-gas reserves, likely to be produced before any serious disruptions happen.