Is a Backlash Against ESG Investing Taking Shape?
Employment Litigation attorney Timothy Taylor was mentioned in a Law360 article about a proposal from the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to block state pension funds from selecting investments based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. Mr. Taylor said the proposal came after Texas passed a law last year prohibiting the state from contracting or investing in companies that divest from fossil fuels. Mr. Taylor believes the proposal may presage a wider backlash against ESG.
"We've seen for quite a while now, what I'll call blue-state pension funds — CalPERS and on down the line, in California, New York, Massachusetts — using the size of their funds as leverage to kind of get what they want. And maybe now we will start seeing what I'll call a red-state response going the other way," he said.