Washington, D.C. – Unlocking America’s Future today launched new research on The American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce (AmFree Chamber), a business lobby backed by former Trump administration Attorney General Bill Barr that is leading a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) newly announced climate risk disclosure rule. The findings reveal deep ties between AmFree Chamber’s leaders and oil, gas, and extractive industries and how the group has served as a vehicle for their interests.
Housed under Unlocking America’s Future’s Responsible Investing Watch project, the research outlines how AmFree Chamber has played a role in a broader effort to attack responsible investing, including when in 2023 AmFree Chamber filed an amicus brief on behalf of ExxonMobil, Koch Industries, and the American Petroleum Institute, who were being sued by the state of Minnesota for deceiving and defrauding Minnesotans about the climate related dangers posed by their products.
“The American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce is part of a shady network of special interests backed by the oil, gas, and extractive industries attempting to systematically wipe out responsible investing and climate risk disclosures from America’s financial ecosystem,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “Groups like AmFree Chamber are not acting in the best interest of Americans, our financial system, or the environment. Instead, they are simply trying to line their own pockets with money from greedy billionaires at the helm of top polluting companies.”
Since its inception in 2022, AmFree Chamber has been particularly focused on dismantling climate risk disclosure regulation, despite the fact that Americans overwhelmingly and across party lines support the SEC’s new rule, and they agree financial managers should be empowered with this information. In fact, new polling from Workiva also shows that nine out of ten investors believe the new SEC rule will help them make more informed investment decisions.
You can view the new research here.
