The Daily Caller reports that House Republicans, with their incoming majority, are launching an antitrust investigation into corporations that pursue ESG policies.
"ESG" stands for "environmental, social, and governance."
On Tuesday, a group of six Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee revealed their investigation in a letter that they sent to members of the Steering Committee for Climate Action 100+.
This is a group that lobbies corporations to "take necessary action on climate change." It is the driving force behind the ESG movement.
In the letter, the Republicans write:
Woke corporations are collectively adopting and imposing progressive policy goals that American consumers do not want or do not need. An individual company’s use of corporate resources for progressive aims might violate fiduciary duties or other laws, harming its viability and alienating consumers.
At its core, ESG is merely partisan politics masquerading as responsible corporate governance. A major ESG “policy centerpiece” is stifling investments in oil and gas, and Wall Street firms have “bragg[ed] about their coordinated efforts to choke off investment in energy.” Boycotting certain energy investment, however, is just a subset of the types of ESG-related goals.
The list includes, for example: “climate change (e.g., reporting on climate change, risks of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions goals),” “sustainability reporting,” and other “energy-related” issues. ESG goals can also include other policy concerns, such as “fake news dissemination” or “gun control.” Access to abortion has even become part of ESG.
The Republicans close the letter by making a request for various documents that are related to the ESG issue.
According to the Daily Caller, "the Republicans are demanding all documents from Dec. 1, 2016, to the present related to ways in which the committee may have directed companies on how they could better comply with ESG policy goals."
The Republicans have set a deadline of Dec. 20, 2022, to comply with the request.
