This week in responsible investing, Texas announced an addition to its list of companies and investment funds banned from doing business with the state thanks to the anti-ESG law, SB 13, a study found fourteen states have pending anti-responsible investing policies that could threaten our national security, and well-funded anti-ESG organizations are continuing to attack responsible investing despite the threat climate change poses to farmers.
That and more below:
The Texas comptroller doubled down on the state’s anti-ESG law, adding yet another company to the list of those banned from doing business with the state.
From UAF’s statement: “Texas politicians continue to demonstrate they are wildly out of touch with their constituents. Banning companies from doing business with the state hurts the economy and punishes individuals trying to save for retirement.”
The U.S. Treasury Department says the anti-ESG law in Florida endangers our national security. A new report finds that fourteen other states have introduced similar efforts.
From UAF’s release: The United States Treasury Department recently issued a national security warning against one of the most prolific shades of anti-ESG legislation to emerge in 2024, citing its “risk that international drug traffickers, transnational organized criminals, terrorists, and corrupt foreign officials will use the U.S. financial system to launder money, evade sanctions, and threaten our national security.” Often introduced as the “Equality in Financial Services Act,” this legislation model weaponizes the definition of ‘discrimination’ to force the hands of financial institutions to provide services to entities that may not meet risk assessment criteria, exposing America’s financial institutions to significant liabilities. Right now, it’s law in Florida, but according to a new report from Pleiades Strategy, lawmakers across 14 states have attempted to pass 23 lookalike bills with almost identical language.
Despite the threat climate change poses to American agriculture, well-funded political groups and lawmakers are continuing to attack responsible investing.
From UAF’s release: As America’s farmers and their rural communities face income loss from increasing extreme weather, political advocacy groups funded by polluting industries continue to attack clean energy and responsible investing practices that aim to mitigate the effects of climate change. The American Farmland Trust estimates that, based on the world’s current climate trajectory, a total of nearly 450,000 acres of American farmland will experience coastal flooding by 2040 and other types of severe weather events like extreme droughts and wildfires “pose huge risks for agriculture.” The group also anticipates America’s farmers will experience even more crop damage from pests, pathogens, and viral diseases, which currently cause up to 40% of crop production losses around the world.
Bond Buyer spotlighted UAF’s Textremism campaign and highlighted the economic cost of anti-responsible laws.
From Bond Buyer: Unlocking America’s Future, a group that works to counter attacks against ESG, launched a Texas campaign in May that includes a six-figure digital ad campaign “to set the record straight about the economic costs of Texas’ extreme positions on a range of issues including responsible investing.”
Read more:
- ICYMI: The Bond Buyer Spotlights Unlocking America’s Future Texas Campaign, Economic Costs of State Anti-ESG Laws
- RELEASE: Treasury Department Warns Florida “Anti-Woke” Banking Law Threatens National Security, 14 States Have Introduced Similar Efforts
- RELEASE: Well-Funded Political Groups, Lawmakers Continue Anti-ESG Attacks Despite Threats of Climate Change to American Farmers
- STATEMENT: Texas Comptroller Doubles Down on Responsible Investing Ban
- PlanSponsor: District Court Strikes Down Missouri Anti-ESG Rules, Grants Statewide Injunction
