‘Toxic’ Attacks on ESG Lead Wall Street to Mount a New Defense
- Media Manager
- Jan 18, 2024
- 1 min read
BNN Bloomberg
Written By: Alastair Marsh
Published: January 18th, 2024
Photo Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain
Climate alliances backed by Wall Street heavyweights have struck upon a subtle way to blunt increasingly aggressive attacks by the GOP.
This month, a $3.3 trillion alliance calling itself the Paris Aligned Asset Owners became the latest green coalition to change the language on its website to clarify that signatories make “individual” commitments in line with their “fiduciary obligations.” Other net zero groups have made similar adjustments to show that members aren’t coordinating CO2 reductions, and that the ultimate goal is to protect asset values. Their members include BlackRock Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Such rephrasings mark a departure from earlier statements that referred to joint industry efforts to reduce emissions in order to fight climate change. Though seemingly innocuous, the adjustments follow a wave of threats from the GOP, with Republican lawmakers, governors and state attorneys general alleging that climate alliances represent a form of collusion that warrants antitrust lawsuits. In New Hampshire, GOP lawmakers have gone so far as to seek to criminalize ESG investing.
Climate alliances are now “acting to reduce perceived risk under US antitrust law because of the politically polarized environment,” Maurits Dolmans, a senior counsel at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, said in an interview.
And with elections ahead, the political context “will only become more toxic,” he said.
