Project 2025: How Its Anti-ESG Stance Wrecks the Climate, Harms Workers and Abets Corruption
Our billionaire corporate overlords NEVER want to be responsible for anyone but themselves (Scroll to the end to listen)
What is ESG investing, and why should YOU care?
ESG are a set of metrics that measure how responsible a public company’s proposed investments are. In a capitalist environment that puts profits over people and the planet, ESG encourages public companies to consider more than the bottom line and shareholder return.
Companies are rated in three areas:
Environment - Does the company have policies that promote good stewardship of the environment?
Social - Does the company give back to its community? Does it treat its employees well and safeguard their health and well-being?
Governance - Does the company have ethical, transparent accounting and business practices? Does it employ a diverse leadership? Does it avoid conflicts of interest?
One can already see why the Republican Party and their billionaire overlords hate ESG. Agenda 47, the alternate plan 45 is now using to divert public attention from Project 2025 (but is largely the same plan), also does away with ESG.
How does Project 2025 seek to punish ESG?
Project 2025 dings ESG investing in multiple sections.
In covering the Federal Trade Commission:
ESG Practices as a Cover for Anticompetitive Activity and Possible Unfair Trade Practices. It has long been suspected, and is now increasingly documented, that corporate social advocacy on issues ranging from “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (DEI) to the “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) movement also serves to launder corporate reputation and perhaps obtain favorable treatment from government actors. In a recent Senate Judiciary hearing, Senator Josh Hawley asked FTC Chair Lina Khan if the FTC had conditioned merger reviews on ESG or critical race theories adopted by the firms involved. Khan responded by saying that she turned down deals when firms offered social justice policies in return for approving unlawful deals. In response to a similar question from Senator Tom Cotton, Khan responded that firms try to come to the FTC to get out of antitrust liability by offering climate, diversity, or other forms of ESG-type offerings, but that there is no ESG loophole in the antitrust laws. Her comments suggest that there is a movement of firms attempting to use both ESG and DEI as a sort of reputational laundering to avoid enforcement of potentially criminal activity. The FTC should set up an ESG/DEI collusion task force to investigate firms—particularly in private equity—to see if they are using the practice as a means to meet targets, fix prices, or reduce output.
Project 2025, page 873
One way a Republican administration could target its enemies? Go after public companies that use ESG and DEI and investigate them for “criminal” activity. Which wouldn't bolster the economy unless one is a lawyer.
In covering the Department of Energy:
Under the rubrics of “combating climate change” and “ESG” (environmental, social, and governance), the Biden Administration, Congress, and various states, as well as Wall Street investors, international corporations, and progressive special interest groups, are changing America’s energy landscape. These ideologically driven policies are also directing huge amounts of money to favored interests and making America dependent on adversaries like China for energy.
Project 2025, page 363 - 364
Translation: The Republican Party and its billionaire oil-and-gas overlords do not want any money diverted away from them.
In covering the Department of Labor:
Remove ESG considerations from ERISA. Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investing is a relatively recent strategy promoted by large asset managers that focuses not only on a company’s bottom line, but also on the company’s compliance with liberal political views on climate change, racial quotas, abortion, and other issues. The ESG movement has focused especially on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For example, ESG proponents advocate for divestment from oil and gas companies or the exercise of investor influence to reduce oil and gas production.
Project 2025, page 606
ESG makes corporate workplaces better, fairer, and more responsible for climate initiatives, and Republicans and the billionaire class hate it.
In covering the Federal Reserve:
Political pressure has led the Federal Reserve to use its power to regulate banks as a way to promote politically favorable initiatives including those aligned with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives.
Project 2025, page 732
Banks often use ESG to avoid doing business with hate groups, which of course means many groups tied to the Republican Party.
Part 1 of 2 of Project 2025 Happening NOW: ESG’s
As with abortion bans and bans on transgender care, red state Republicans are attempting to implement anti-ESG laws at the state level, which hurt the environment, workers, shareholders, and the economy.
In June, Pleiades Strategy published the 2024 Statehouse Report, which shows Republican legislatures continuing their assault on responsible investing.
In 2024, Republican lawmakers continued their project to weaponize state finances and regulatory powers against responsible investing through the consideration of 161 bills and resolutions in 28 states. While sessions saw a high volume of bills introduced, steady diverse opposition — alongside the costly and litigious implementation of earlier laws — led to fewer total bills passed into law this year. (Only six.) These “anti-ESG” bills seek to manipulate the market toward risky industries, such as firearms manufacturing and fossil fuels.
Source: Pleiades Strategy’s Statehouse Report by Connor Gibson, Frances Sawyer, and Jeremy Siegel
Sustained opposition and the prohibitive cost of litigation led to the defeat of most of these bills. But the Republican assault on ESGs is unrelenting.
What does anti-ESG legislation mean for YOU?
Public companies will be less likely to invest in protecting the environment or have policies to combat climate change, causing you and your loved ones to suffer more rapid climate heating.
Public companies will hire fewer minorities and women, and they will not invest in creating good work environments or worker safety.
More investment dollars will flow to fossil fuels, which will degrade the climate, and the gun industry, which kills people.
It will be more difficult to interpret company financial data or expose companies engaged in conflicts of interest or corruption. This causes financial meltdowns when companies go bankrupt (think Enron.)
Every bullet point degrades economic performance and stifles economic growth.
Tomorrow, we will cover Pleiades Strategy’s deep dive into the Republican effort to use ESGs to weaponize civil liability.
Calls to Action to Keep P2025 From Ruining YOUR Life
Check your voter registration or register to vote: I Will Vote
Support Democratic campaigns directly in competitive races: Blue24
Support earlyworm’s 2024 Giving Guide: earlyworm
Report a Project 2025 incident: Not On Our Watch
Mail postcards to swing-state voters: Postcards to Swing States
Thank you for keeping us updated. I hope you can take a break soon. So much negativity!
DeSantis is the ringleader for rallying states against Biden admin ESG agenda. He’s also blaming our insane property insurance rates on ESG policies !
https://unlockingamericasfuture.org/icymi-florida-gov-desantis-sneaks-risky-dangerous-anti-responsible-investing-measure-into-broader-financial-bill/