This week in responsible investing, Unlocking America’s Future released several fact sheets on President-elect Trump’s recent cabinet picks, which includes an energy executive who once drank fracking oil (seriously), someone who wants to roll back accountability at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and someone who owes his wealth to oil companies. Read more below:
POLITICO covered Trump’s disastrous pick for the SEC, Paul Atkins, who wants to get rid of the climate risk disclosure rule.
POLITICO quoted UAF: “Atkins’ mission to roll back accountability and transparency should raise alarm for the future of responsible investing,” said Kyle Herrig, a spokesperson for Unlocking America’s Future, which promotes ESG investing and has run ads supporting the SEC climate-disclosure rule. Atkins would “surely put a stop to any progress on ESG [principles], which are critical for building a resilient American financial system, protecting the financial security of America’s retirees, and maintaining America’s leadership on the global stage,” Herrig said in a statement.
Trump picked Chris Wright to run the Department of Energy, a climate change denier who literally once drank fracking fluid.
From UAF’s fact sheet on Wright: Wright is an outspoken opponent and antagonist of climate science and has been one of the key supporters behind the anti-responsible investing movement. His company, Liberty Energy, filed a lawsuit this past March against the U.S. SEC climate risk disclosure rule. Immediately following Trump’s announcement, policymakers, advocates, and industry experts came forward to warn against the selection, saying that Wright’s nomination would create disastrous consequences for the American consumer and the environment.
Treasury pick Scott Bessent owes his wealth to Big Oil and plans to roll back clean energy economic advancements.
From UAF’s fact sheet on Bessent: Bessent’s financial firm, Key Square Capital Management LLC, has made millions of dollars investing in the oil and gas industry. Bessent has been a vocal opponent of renewable energy development and the Inflation Reduction Act, which spurred billions in manufacturing investment into America’s rural economies. If confirmed, Bessent would likely use his position to halt progress on the green economy, and protect his own bottom line and that of his wealthy friends at the helm of the oil and gas industry.
Read more:
- POLITICO: Trump SEC pick wants to ditch landmark climate disclosure rule
- FACT SHEET: Trump Pick for Energy Secretary Chris Wright Is A Climate Science Denier And Anti-ESG Advocate Who Once Drank Fracking Fluid – Literally
- FACT SHEET: Treasury Secretary Pick Scott Bessent Owes His Wealth to Big Oil, Plans to Roll Back Clean Energy Economy Advancements
