INSIGHT by the InfluenceMap
New InfluenceMap analysis shows that policy priorities of the US House Republicans ESG Working Group closely mirror the tactics and narratives long used by industry associations to delay and dilute sustainable finance policies.
Policy priorities outlined by US House Republicans throughout their July 2023 “anti-ESG” month include stopping the SEC’s climate disclosure rulemaking, limiting ESG-related shareholder proposals, and obstructing financial regulators’ climate risk management efforts.
InfluenceMap’s research shows that some industry associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce, the Bank Policy Institute, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Investment Company Institute, have championed some of these same priorities for years in a bid to weaken sustainable finance policymaking and implementation.
Prominent examples include the US Chamber of Commerce asserting that the SEC climate disclosure rule violates the First Amendment, the Bank Policy Institute suggesting that regulations to address climate risks for banks are unnecessary, and the National Association of Manufacturers supporting regulation to limit ESG investing. Crucially, this multi-sectoral opposition comes from groups that represent many of the world’s largest companies, from Amazon and Alphabet to JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs to ExxonMobil and Chevron. However, previous InfluenceMap analysis has shown how associations such as the US Chamber of Commerce tend to mirror the positions of their fossil fuel sector members that are most opposed to climate policy.
“’Anti-ESG’ proponents appear to have shifted their focus from accusing individual firms of boycotting energy companies to going after financial regulators that they deem to be engaged in ‘politicized policymaking.'”
“The latest House Republican policy priorities around “anti-ESG” are exactly those that industry has been pushing for years. It is clear that non-financial actors, including the fossil fuel industry, have their hand on the scale for financial regulation; a heavy hand that has led to legislative action.”
-Cleo Rank, InfluenceMap’s Senior Analyst
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InfluenceMap launched its corporate climate lobbying platform on the eve of the Paris Agreement in late 2015 in response to growing demand from investors and other stakeholders. The analysis provided, for the first time, detailed measurement of how corporations and their industry groups influence policy needed to address climate change. It introduced the concept of the corporate Carbon Policy Footprint or Scope 4 emissions.
The content has become a mainstream investor tool in assessing and engaging with companies, including the Climate Action 100+ process, and has been cited in over 2,000 media articles globally. It feeds into numerous NGO campaigns and helps the corporate sector engage more positively on climate policy.
| All opinions expressed are those of the author and/or quoted sources. investESG.eu is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around ESG investing topics.
