The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar has sent letters to nearly 20 companies boycotting the oil and gas industry, including HSBC.
Austin Journal reports that last year during Texas' 87th Legislative Session, the Texas Legislature passed the Oil & Gas Investment Protection Act (SB13), which prohibits state entities from investing in financial companies boycotting energy companies and requires the state to remove any state funds from firms that boycott the oil and gas industry.
More specifically, the law requires the comptroller of public accounts to maintain a list of companies which refuse to do business with or penalize energy companies because they do not pledge to meet regulatory standards beyond applicable state and federal law. Subsequently, letters are sent to the companies listed alerting them that the state of Texas will divest from their company or fund should they continue their boycott of energy companies.
Hegar sent letters to 19 companies last week that may be in violation of SB13. These companies are asked in the letters to issue a response clarifying their policies on fossil fuel investment and to provide a list of portfolio funds that “prohibit or limit investment in fossil fuels.”
According to a press release issued by the comptroller, "A company that fails to provide clarification 60 days after receiving this letter will be presumed to be boycotting energy companies."
“A handful of companies are echoing promises by the Biden administration about a ‘transition’ to green energy,” Hegar said in a statement, according to Texas Business Daily. “They’ve managed to convince people that electric cars and wind and solar power generation can meet our energy needs, and if we just stop investing in oil and gas, the transition will be swift and painless.”
Hegar said that research shows that some companies are telling other energy-producing states one thing, and then turning around and telling their liberal clients in other states another thing.
Hegar made clear in the release that the list does will not end with just these 19: "Another round of letters soon will be mailed to more than 100 other publicly traded investment companies that appear to have one or more funds boycotting fossil fuels. These companies will be asked to list all of their mutual funds and ETFs that refuse to invest in fossil fuels. Responses collected from these entities will help finalize the comptroller’s list of companies that boycott the fossil fuel sector."
The same day that comptroller Hegar sent the letters, HSBC, one of the companies that was contacted, issued a press release that included the following statement: "We commit to phase down our financing of fossil fuels to what is required to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C. This commitment builds upon recent announcements, including our new thermal coal financing phase-out policy, which is now being implemented, and the publication last month of science-based targets for on-balance sheet financed emissions from the Oil and Gas, and Power and Utilities sectors."
The release went on to state that "financing the transition is our primary objective. Doing so will require client-specific plans, and we will engage with our clients to understand and review their transition plans. If no transition plans are produced, or if after continued engagement a client transition plan is not compatible with HSBC’s net zero 2050 target, we will formally assess whether we continue to provide financing for that client."
The 19 companies that received letters include Abrdn, PLC; BlackRock; BNP Paribas; Credit Suisse Group AG; Danske Bank A/S; HSBC Holdings PLC; Invesco, Ltd.; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; Jupiter Fund Management, PLC; Man Group, PLC; NatWest Group, PLC; Nordea Bank Abp; Rathbones Group, PLC; Schroders, PLC; Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc.; Svenska Handelsbanken AB; Swedbank AB; UBS Group AG and Wells Fargo & Company.