State and congressional Republican lawmakers are trying a bold new tack to stall the fossil fuel boycott and divestment movement — all the while oil and gas companies flood their campaign coffers.
By Donald Shaw, Sludge
Republican state and federal lawmakers, their campaign coffers filled with fossil fuel donations, are quietly building a nationwide effort to pass anti-divestment bills that would punish financial institutions that consider the climate crisis in their business deals or try to do something about it by not working with fossil fuel companies.
The effort began last December, when a model bill written by former Texas state Rep. Jason Isaac (R), now director at the Charles Koch-funded think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, was unveiled at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s major gathering of conservative lawmakers. The model legislation, titled the “Energy Discrimination Elimination Act,” calls for states to identify and divest from financial institutions that boycott or otherwise penalize energy companies for falling short of environmental standards.
Since then, several states have introduced bills based on the model language, with two versions already becoming law. The push has also made its way to the national level. A federal bill proposed last month by the U.S. House’s top recipient of coal industry money would prohibit financial advisers from considering ESG — environmental, social, and corporate governance — factors when making investment decisions.
Now the fight against ESG considerations is spilling out of the halls of Congress and state legislatures. Last week, Utah’s Republican governor and its entire congressional delegation sent a letter to the credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings opposing the company’s plans to add ESG scores to its global credit ratings for state and local governments.
“S&P’s ESG credit indicators politicize what should be a purely financial decision,” the politicians argued in their letter, according to Bloomberg. The letter was celebrated on Twitter by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and by the State Financial Officers Foundation, a conservative nonprofit whose board of directors and advisory committee include ALEC executives.
Recent Posts
Don’t Despair: Trump Isn’t Invincible
November 12, 2024
Take Action NowDonald Trump’s reelection is awful, but wallowing in misery only benefits his far-right agenda — and risks squandering the…
There Was No “Pogrom” In Amsterdam
November 12, 2024
Take Action NowThe far right is fanning the flames of conflict.By Mira Oklobdzija, Foreign Policy In FocusIn early…
It’s Time For Corporate Democrats To Face Their Failures
November 12, 2024
Take Action NowThe corporate wing of the Democratic Party has failed to achieve the electoral success it once promised with Bill Clinton…
Biden’s Middle East Legacy Is One Of Abject Failure
November 11, 2024
Take Action NowBiden’s Gaza policy has left the larger Middle East in flames.By Juan Cole, Tom DispatchPresident…