{"id":254272,"date":"2023-04-23T14:06:22","date_gmt":"2023-04-23T12:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254272"},"modified":"2023-04-23T14:06:26","modified_gmt":"2023-04-23T12:06:26","slug":"peak-esg-is-behind-us-theyve-stopped-bragging-about-environmental-wokeness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=254272","title":{"rendered":"Peak ESG is behind us: They\u2019ve stopped bragging about environmental wokeness."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From JoNova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

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Environmental wokeness has become a liability for investors<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The backlash against  ESG has hit bonds, stocks, corporates<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a recent survey, half of large investors in North America now admit to worrying that ESG exposes them to legal risk. When companies want to create a Green-Woke project they issue ESG bonds to get loans to build it, but sometime between last year and this year those Bonds have halved<\/em>. Suddenly companies are not dressing up in the Big Green cloak. That\u2019s $6 billion in ESG investments that didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The change in direction has been driven by Florida and Texas and the 19 or more states that have joined them.  Even though the $2b in funds Ron De Santis pulled from BlackRock<\/a> et al last year was a drop in the ocean for a $10 trillion dollar fund, it was the tip of a spear at the heart of the beast. The financial houses and asset managers were using other people\u2019s money to force through political changes those same people didn\u2019t want to vote for. If the crowd followed De Santis the whole game was up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

De Santis has just tightened the screws further today:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DeSantis Steps Up Attack on ESG as Florida Bars Public Investments<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

By Marvin G Perez, Bloomberg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new legislation prohibits Florida municipalities from selling bonds tied to ESG projects, as well as imposing restrictions on seeking ESG ratings. In 2022, Florida issuers sold $13 billion of long-term bonds, making it the fourth-largest issuer in the US, behind California, New York and Texas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The law also bars Florida\u2019s public money from being deposited in financial institutions that are deemed to pursue \u201csocial, political, or ideological interests\u201d in their investment decisions. Florida had almost $37 billion in state deposits\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a phase change in the US with an exodus from ESG Bonds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US ESG Bond Market<\/a> Chokes on Republican Backlash, Investor Angst<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By  David Caleb Mutua<\/a>, Bloomberg<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies sold about $6 billion of bonds last quarter to pay for projects that help the environment, achieve a social goal, or improve their governance, a type of debt known as ESG. That\u2019s down more than 50% from the same time last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, which focused on companies outside the financial industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many investors are reconsidering their approach to ESG. Almost half of North America\u2019s biggest investors worry that the politics around ESG securities in the US exposes them to legal risks, according to a global survey<\/a> of firms overseeing $27 trillion published last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bloomberg<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Texas is boycotting funds that boycott fossil fuels:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile in the US, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Glenn Hegar in August 2022 first listed 10 firms and more than 340 individual funds that \u201cboycott energy companies,\u201d a designation that compels state-run entities like pension managers to sell their holdings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis represents a material shift in the conversation around ESG,\u201d Texas Comptroller Hegar said in an emailed statement. \u201cThe shine is wearing off as Americans discover that ESG investments are not only failing to deliver the financial returns that their proponents promised, but also simultaneously distorting the free market incentives that actually might move the needle on some of the policy objectives that ESG investments supposedly support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So now they scramble to look non-Woke<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In March Texas added HSBC to the blacklist. HSBC protested saying that it doesn\u2019t \u201cconsider itself to be boycotting the financing of energy companies,\u201d but last year they sacked Stuart Kirk for saying that investors<\/a> don\u2019t have to worry about \u201cclimate risk\u201d years from now. HSBC\u2019s political agenda is obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of discussing how they might not know snow, now companies are talking about the risks of \u201canti-ESG\u201d efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bad news for Eco-Worrier-finances has piled on in the last six months.\u00a0Environmental investors lost 22%<\/a>\u00a0last year \u2014 in the same year that Energy investors made 54% gains. In December\u00a0\u00a0Vanguard dropped out of GFANZ<\/a>, the glorious Glasgow banker accord. In January, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock complained the\u00a0attacks on ESG were getting ugly and personal.<\/a>\u00a0Shucks. Where was he when bankers called us \u201cclimate deniers\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Companies are laying low on ESG as backlash intensifies<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Emily Peck,  Axios<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies don\u2019t want to talk about their environmental, social and governance goals anymore, experts in ESG<\/a> and communications tell Axios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State of play: <\/strong>Anti-ESG forces are in full swing this proxy season \u2014 the time of year when public companies host their annual meetings, and shareholders vote on a slate of investor proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n