Today, the American Petroleum Institute released its “five point roadmap” to “unleash America’s energy security.” Point number one? “Protect Consumer Choice.” API claims that “Mandates don’t work. When it comes to energy, consumers should have more choice, not less.”
However, API has been working behind the scenes to push an extreme anti-ESG agenda, which includes adopting mandates that force states to blacklist certain responsible investing funds or companies that have ESG initiatives. On the front lines, API’s top lobbyists have made clear they view responsible investing as ‘discriminatory’ against Big Oil and do not support banks and investors engaging in the investment practice.
“Big oil and gas companies can’t have it both ways,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “We know responsible investing is good for the economy, jobs, and business climate. API’s attempts to take away those options for public employees, taxpayers, and retirees is out of touch with what Americans want.”
In Texas, extreme lawmakers have enacted radical anti-responsible investing policies which create penalties for using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria when investing state funds. This has led to banks fleeing the state, municipalities scrambling to fund important projects, and confusion as to which organizations are blacklisted.
Unlocking America’s Future’s poll shows that 72% of Texas voters believe leaders in Texas have become less focused on fixing real problems and more focused on pushing an extreme conservative agenda.
- A majority of Texans believe state lawmakers are working for their wealthy campaign donors (77%) and are too friendly with the fossil fuel industry (66%).
- Texans overwhelmingly (91%) trust banks and professional investors over politicians when deciding whether a company is a worthwhile investment. In fact, 83% of Texans believe it is not the role of the state government to tell private financial institutions how to invest their customer’s money.
- A majority of Texas voters don’t support or see the need for these anti-ESG laws, with 56% of voters opposing ESG bans.
