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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/01/republicans-sustainable-investing-midterms-00064326
The country’s largest financial firms are bracing for a fresh wave of attacks on their sustainable investing efforts after the midterm elections — especially if Republicans take control of one or both houses of Congress.
The biggest push to discourage banks and asset managers from considering environmental, social and governance factors in making financial decisions — and the biggest headache for Wall Street — will continue to come from GOP state officials who have been cutting business ties with firms they say are discriminating against fossil fuel companies in service to a “woke” agenda.
Republicans are planning to build on the momentum they’ve established in states like Texas, Louisiana and West Virginia, where officials have pulled millions of dollars out of BlackRock Inc. and other financial firms. Financial officer candidates in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota and Kansas have taken positions on ESG that have polarized races that seldom see political drama.
“This is going to escalate,” said West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore, a Republican leading a coalition of 15 state treasurers working to punish financial firms they say are boycotting fossil fuels. “We are going full throttle once we get into 2023. We are going to see a lot more movement on this at the state level. You’re really going to start to reach critical mass as it relates to assets under management and capital that can be leveraged against the ESG movement.”
The country’s largest financial firms are bracing for a fresh wave of attacks on their sustainable investing efforts after the midterm elections — especially if Republicans take control of one or both houses of Congress.
The biggest push to discourage banks and asset managers from considering environmental, social and governance factors in making financial decisions — and the biggest headache for Wall Street — will continue to come from GOP state officials who have been cutting business ties with firms they say are discriminating against fossil fuel companies in service to a “woke” agenda.
Republicans are planning to build on the momentum they’ve established in states like Texas, Louisiana and West Virginia, where officials have pulled millions of dollars out of BlackRock Inc. and other financial firms. Financial officer candidates in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota and Kansas have taken positions on ESG that have polarized races that seldom see political drama.
“This is going to escalate,” said West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore, a Republican leading a coalition of 15 state treasurers working to punish financial firms they say are boycotting fossil fuels. “We are going full throttle once we get into 2023. We are going to see a lot more movement on this at the state level. You’re really going to start to reach critical mass as it relates to assets under management and capital that can be leveraged against the ESG movement.”
