Mark Brnovich, Arizona's Attorney General, announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed March 6 an anti-trust investigation into Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies and organizations like Climate Action 100+ for allegedly steering markets away from traditional energy sources and toward green energy. Texas is also trying to reign in ESG-focused companies.
The op-ed was published on the same day as a tweet from entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy that called out the same problem.
“If Exxon, Chevron, Shell coordinate to restrict gas supply & spike prices, we’d call that an antitrust violation and prosecute the alleged felons. But when their top shareholders like BlackRock & Vanguard force them to do the same, we call it “ESG” instead. Funny how that works"
In the op-ed, “'ESG May Be an Antitrust Violation," Brnovich explains how a coordinated effort is underway to stop investments in traditional energy sectors like oil and gas. The investigation is based on "this potentially unlawful market manipulation” and the protection of consumers.
Brnovich described how large banks and money managers implement political agendas such as the Paris Climate Accord. Then groups like Climate Action 100+, which manages $60 trillion in assets, push the agenda
"The activism can include pushing climate goals at shareholder meetings and voting against directors and proposals that don’t comport with the agenda, even if other decisions may benefit investors," Brnovich said.
According to the Texas Business Daily, Dan Patrick, the Texas Lt. Governor, has criticized ESG policies and has pushed the state to disinvest and discontinue working with Blackrock, a US international investment firm.
"BlackRock is capriciously discriminating against the oil and gas industry by exiting investments solely because companies do not subscribe to a 'net zero' policy beyond what is required by law," Patrick said.
On the heels of Patrick’s announcement, the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Glenn Hegar wrote to nearly 20 companies on March 16 to clarify their fossil fuel investment policies and to identify restrictions on fossil fuel investments. The Austin Journal reported that 19 companies to receive letters from Hegar are 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 &