ESG May Be an Antitrust Violation
I’m investigating a coordinated effort to allocate markets.
By Mark Brnovich
March 6, 2022 4:40 pm ET
A trio of concrete stacks at the Navajo Generating Station near Page, Ariz., Aug. 20, 2019PHOTO: SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The biggest antitrust violation in history may be in plain sight. Wall Street banks and money managers are bragging about their coordinated efforts to choke off investment in energy. It’s nearly impossible to raise money to explore for oil and gas right now, and we may all be experiencing rising energy costs because of this market manipulation. Russian and Chinese aggression overseas also is exacerbating inflation.
Here’s what is happening: The biggest banks and money managers seek to implement a political agenda, such as compliance with the Paris Climate Accord. Then a group mobilizes: Climate Action 100+, for example, comprised of hundreds of big banks and money managers that together manage $60 trillion. The group uses its coordinated influence to compel companies to shut down coal and natural-gas plants. The activism can include pushing climate goals at shareholder meetings and voting against directors and proposals that don’t comport with the agenda, even if other decisions may benefit investors.
Firms report their plan to carry out these activities back to Climate Action 100+ headquarters. This helps ensure maximum coordinated effort toward the common goal of overhauling the energy industry. Money managers wield influence over these companies because they represent investors who are shareholders, often through their 401(k)s or pension plans. In other words, your retirement funds are likely helping facilitate these political campaigns to advance far-left policy goals, with consumers bearing the costs of increased energy prices.
Climate Action 100+ is one of many activist groups that operate like this, with a significant impact on critical investments in America’s energy infrastructure. Decarbonization of capital expenditures is one of their major goals. Investment in oil and gas exploration and production in 2021 was nearly 25% below 2019 levels. One private-equity CEO described trying to raise wide-scale capital for drilling oil as almost impossible.
An axiom of economics is that if you produce less, the cost will go up. The price of Brent crude hit $114 a barrel last week, an eight-year high, amid tensions over the Russian-Ukraine war. This hurts the pocketbook of all Americans, especially lower-wage workers, who spend a greater percentage of income on fuel.
While climate activists believe they know best, the U.S. can’t maintain its security while depending on foreign dictators and oligarchs to supply its energy. Current economic trends and international tensions heighten the need for domestic companies to maximize efficiency and productivity. Proper corporate governance is good not only for shareholders but for the stability of America and the world.
As attorney general of Arizona, I have a responsibility to protect consumers from artificial restrictions on production. That’s why I’ve launched an investigation into this potentially unlawful market manipulation. The resources of hard-working Arizonans should never be compromised in the name of spurious political activism, especially if that activism is a coordinated conspiracy that allocates markets in violation of the law.
Mr. Brnovich is attorney general of Arizona.
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