War on ESG Spreads
At the start of 2021, it really looked for a moment like capitalism could help save us. Big businesses were making net zero pledges and vowing to do their part to solve the climate crisis, while environmental and social governance—a set of principles intended to help corporations make ethical investments—was gaining traction in companies across the world. When Texas’s Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick in 2021 first proposed that the state stop doing business with firms that “boycott” oil and gas companies—legislation modeled on a doomed bill to punish companies that didn’t support Israel—it was mostly seen as a ludicrous proposition.
But that idea, ridiculous as it may be, went into implementation in Texas and caught fire among red states, as the right turned to bullying financial firms into not caring about climate change again. Now, more than 15 states have laws on the books or legislation proposed that would enact similar policies, anti-ESG talking points have entered right-wing television, investment funds have been started that specifically exclude ESG investors—and big businesses like Vanguard and BlackRock are signaling that they’re looking to wiggle out or downplay their climate commitments.
