What is ESG? Why is it Dangerous for Idaho?

The United Nations Environment Program Initiative: in the Freshfields Report in October 2005 was the first organization to coin the phrase “ESG” an acronym which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. ESG takes the holistic view that sustainability extends beyond just environmental issues and aims to be an accurate means of measuring a company’s commitment to specific social, environmental, and governance responsibilities. ESG’s can be traced back to the 1970’s but it’s roots can be traced back to when faith-based organizations began to shun commodities and industries that conflicted with their value systems like the Quakers did with the tobacco and liquor industries. So, in 1971, the SRI (Socially Responsible Investing) paradigm was used to adjust funds’ portfolios to eliminate “war profiteering. The Pax World Balanced Fund restricted investments based upon an industry’s negative social impact. It did not invest in any company that produced or were a part of the supply chain for Agent Orange. Over time more funds were launched and extended their influence on industries like alcohol, tobacco, weapons, gambling, pornography, and nuclear energy. Other funds taking an ESG approach took it a step further and invested in companies that did not have any deleterious workplace, governance, environment, social justice or other similar practices. There are now over a thousand investment companies with ESG/SRI assets, and they continue to grow and influence corporate strategies.

The problem with ESG investment: is it deters and distracts the management of companies from maximizing their long-term profitability, much of which is achieved through innovation, customer focus and cost control. This shift in these priorities to inconsistent and defined social impact criteria can be a long-term threat to economic growth. Does anyone remember the crash of 2008 when analysts and investors got it so wrong when rating agencies messed up their projections of mortgage risk with their derivative swaps which fell apart causing many banks to become insolvent. This became the largest bailout in banking history and don’t think this could not happen again in a different format. We currently have three of the largest investment firms in the world who control twenty trillion in managed money between them who are influencing corporations around the world. These three firms Vanguard, Black Rock and State Street are the leaders in ESG investing and are the cause of much of the consternation for the huge slowdown in carbon-based investments like oil and gas drilling. These companies control huge amounts of securities in the largest financial institutions in the world and exercise their influence on these institutions through those holdings. They have been wielding their influence in a coordinated effort to slow down oil and gas exploration by withholding investments that allow our big oil and gas producers financing to find new reserves. You could say they have been working hand in hand with the democrats on their climate change agenda and need to bear some of the responsibility for the problems with the energy problems that our country is now facing with rising costs.

It’s Your Money: Most of you don’t understand that the money that these investment companies run is from your 401K’s and IRA’s and in many cases pension money managed by our state treasuries. They have taken our retirement money and used it against us to transform our country from an oil and gas exporter to an oil and gas importer forcing prices to unheard of levels. We have given these investment companies the ability to change the economic prosperity of our country and are part of the reason we now have a recession and unabated inflation. Carbon fuels like gasoline and diesel are critical to industry and commerce and as the price of these fuels rises so does everything else. Just think about how just about everything we consume in Idaho is delivered by truck and how we depend on natural gas, electricity and propane to heat our homes during winter. How many of our citizens live on fixed incomes and will not be able to afford to heat their homes or buy gas for their vehicles?

There are currently 19 states that are investigating major financial institutions for: ESG style commitments to the U.N. Net-Zero Banking Alliance that control 40% of the worlds banking assets. They are committed to aligning their lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050. These banking institutions overseen by the U.N. are starving our fossil fuel companies’ activities by restricting their access to credit necessary to do the exploration for new deposits of fossil fuels. They are literally killing American companies that don’t agree with their WOKE CLIMATE AGENDA. It is time to stop this reckless coercion of these WOKE financial institutions from destroying one of the most important sectors of our economy.

It is time for us to retaliate: by taking our money out of these financial institutions that foster and follow these new ESG principles. It is time Idahoans asked governor Little and Attorney General Wasden why Idaho is not part of this investigation of these rogue banks and investment companies. We as a conservative state should be leading the charge in fixing this problem. Many states are holding big banks accountable for their obvious violations and for peddling highly questionable climate initiatives under the label ESG. Will our governor and AG act or will they show their true colors and allow this discrimination to continue and further harm our economy? Idaho’s commerce and industry runs on carbon-based fuels and this sudden price jump and restrictions placed on pipelines, oil drilling and refining is going to seriously affect our state. Our governor says we are in great shape economically compared to most other western states but how long do you think that will last with fuel prices continuing to rise exponentially into next year. Idahoans will soon be deciding on whether they should buy gas for their cars or food for their families. It’s time to hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire by calling them and asking what they are doing to fix this ESG problem with our financial institutions.

“We Get the Government We Deserve”