Congress makes plans to lead federal opposition to ESG in 2023 (2023)

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January 3, 2023

From state treasurers divesting pension and operating funds from BlackRock and other ESG providers to state attorneys general investigating the same providers over the impact of ESG on assorted policy matters, state officials led the pushback against environmental, social, and corporate governance investing in 2022.

While the states are expected to continue pushing back against ESG in the new year, the shift in control of the House of Representatives has Republican elected officials making plans to increase their visibility and activity opposing ESG at the federal level as well:

“

Republicans are planning to use their control of the House of Representatives in 2023 to intensify attacks on companies that account for climate-related risks when they're making investment decisions…. Republicans say they're fighting a coordinated effort by big investors to impose progressive policies that threaten capitalism itself. Rep. Andy Barr, a Republican from Kentucky and a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, says ESG investing is aimed at "politicizing capital allocation and actively discriminating against fossil energy." ESG is "a cancer in our capital markets that must be eradicated," Barr said in a statement to NPR…. A December hearing that Texas lawmakers held on ESG investing could be a preview of things to come in Congress. Texas lawmakers said the practice of analyzing climate risks to make investment decisions is threatening fossil fuel companies in the state and the entire American economy. Under questioning in Texas, Dalia Blass, BlackRock's head of external affairs, said the firm considers ESG issues that pose financial risks and opportunities for clients in order to deliver "the best risk-adjusted returns we can for them."… Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Republican from North Carolina and the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said in a statement to NPR that GOP lawmakers will "conduct appropriate oversight of activist regulators and market participants who have an outsized impact.

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