Attorneys General: Responsible Investing Opponents “Disregard the Facts” as They Oppose Common Sense Measures
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 2023
Washington, D.C. – Earlier this month, 18 attorneys general sent a letter to congressional leaders supporting a U.S. Department of Labor rule, which allows investors to consider environmental, social, and governance factors when making investment decisions.
“Climate change is dramatically shifting the investment landscape for many companies,” says the letter. “ESG factors are tools investors can use to accommodate this shift in their risk-return analyses. ESG opponents disregard the facts underlying how ESG factors may be employed to allow investors to make informed investment decisions that increase value and decrease risk.”
The letter specifically calls out the RETIRE Act (H.R. 5339) and the ESG Act (H.R. 4237), saying that, if enacted, these anti-responsible investing laws would return to language from an earlier law that “sows confusion, improperly limits the information available to fiduciaries, and inhibits reasoned investment decision-making.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison added in a separate statement, “It makes no sense to bar fiduciaries from considering how climate change will affect industries like tourism or agriculture, or how a pattern of corporate misbehavior could impact the risk of an investment.”
To read the full letter from the attorneys general, click HERE.
To read the full article detailing the letter, click HERE.
