"Conservative politicians argue that environmental, social and governance principles—known as "ESG"—are diverting asset managers from their duties to investors, and may even amount to illegal collusion."
"It has only been a decade since climate activists launched campaigns to get financial institutions and money managers to see that dollars pumped into the fossil fuel industry were a risk to both the planet and investor portfolios.
That effort has had some success but remains a work in progress. All of Wall Street now talks about environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in investing, and that’s a problem. Claims of a commitment to that philosophy are ubiquitous among corporations and investment funds, and investors are left to figure out which declarations amount to mere greenwashing. Only within the last year have government watchdogs moved to set standards on what companies must disclose about climate risks.
Before those rules are set, Republicans have decided the time is right for an anti-ESG backlash. In 2023, they are preparing on multiple fronts to take on Wall Street, corporate America and U.S. financial regulators for, in their view, paying too much attention to environmental concerns and not enough to making money."
Marianne Lavelle reports for Inside Climate News January 3, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"House Majority Gives Republicans A Chance To Take On ESG Investing" (The Hill)
"Republicans Plan More Attacks On ESG. Investors Still Plan To Focus On Climate Risk" (NPR)
"U.S. Finance Faces ESG Backlash, More To Come In 2023" (Reuters)
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