This week in responsible investing, Unlocking America’s Future expanded our campaign to urge Congress to support the SEC’s climate risk disclosure rule and Oklahoma lawmakers are facing the consequences of their disastrous anti-responsible investing law. All this, and more, below:
UAF released a memo highlighting how the push for the Congressional Review Act Resolution against the SEC’s climate risk disclosure rule is wasting taxpayer dollars.
From UAF’s memo: This memo outlines why the CRA will fail and how the SEC’s climate risk disclosure rule benefits transparency in the financial ecosystem, America’s presence on the global stage, and Americans trying to save for retirement – ultimately showing that these desperate efforts from self-serving politicians are a waste of taxpayer dollars and finite government resources.
UAF expanded its ad campaign in support of the SEC climate risk disclosure rule into districts in California and New York.
From UAF’s release: “We encourage Congress to say ‘no’ to billionaires and ‘yes’ to working Americans who want and need the transparency that comes with the SEC’s rule,” said Kyle Herrig, spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future. “Members of Congress need to take the side of their constituents, not billionaire oil and gas executives who are only interested in protecting their bottom line.”
Oklahoma’s anti-responsibility rule is costing cities and towns millions…
From an article in The Oklahoman: “[Travis] Roach, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Economics at UCO and founder of the Central Policy Institute, said the law, which prevents the state from doing business with companies that have environmental, social and governance policies, has increased borrowing costs for municipalities by about 16% compared to states that don’t have the legislation. He said the study also showed that the measure caused increased borrowing costs, higher taxes, reduced expenditures in other areas and the ‘delay or complete abandonment of projects intended to improve infrastructure and quality of life.’”
…and Oklahoma politicians walked back their support for the anti-ESG law.
From UAF’s release: Oklahoma lawmakers are walking back their posterchild anti-ESG legislation, the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act (EDEA), after municipalities incurred an estimated $184.7 million in additional expenses in the first 17 months of implementation. The law, passed in 2022, placed some of the world’s largest financial institutions on a blacklist for contracts with state agencies and political subdivisions, including BlackRock, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America.
Texas issuers say anti-responsible investing laws are decreasing competition and making it harder for Texas cities to get out of debt.
From Bond Buyer: Houston Controller Chris Hollins, who took office in January, chastised state officials for targeting banks for their environmental or gun safety stances. “That decreased competition drives up the cost for taxpayers and it makes the work that we do to dig our cities out of financial holes harder,” he said in a Tuesday speech at the conference. “Make no mistake, the twists and turns we must now navigate are contrived, devised, and caused by select people here in Austin.”
Read more:
- MEMO: Push for Congressional Review Act Resolution on SEC Climate Risk Disclosure Rule Is Wasting Taxpayer Resources
- NEW ADS: Unlocking America’s Future Expands Ad Campaign to New York, California to Protect SEC’s New Climate Risk Disclosure Rule
- ICYMI: New Study Shows Oklahoma’s Anti-Responsible Investing Law Costs Municipalities Millions
- Bond Buyer: Texas issuers say they feel pinch from state anti-‘boycott’ laws
