Oklahoma’s treasurer announced that the state will stop doing
business
with more than a dozen financial firms over accusations that they “boycott” the
energy
industry.
Oklahoma
Treasurer Todd Russ revealed the list of blacklisted firms on Wednesday and emphasized that they will end up losing access to billions of dollars from government entities as a result of the judgment. The move comes after the state
sent out questionnaires
to dozens of companies in an effort to inform the list.
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The list includes heavy hitters, such as Bank of America,
BlackRock
, and
JPMorgan
Chase.
“The energy sector is crucial to Oklahoma’s economy, providing jobs for our residents and helping drive economic growth,” Russ said. “It is essential for us to work with financial institutions that are focused on free-market principles and not beholden to social goals that override their fiduciary duties.”
The additional firms being blacklisted by Oklahoma are State Street, Grosvenor Capital Management, Lexington Partners, FirstMark Fund Partners, Touchstone VC Global Partners, WCM Investment Management, William Blair, Actis LLP, and Climate First Bank.
JPMorgan hit back at the treasurer’s decision, calling it “baseless” in a statement provided to the Washington Examiner.
“As the nation’s largest bank, we are among the top financers across the energy sector, including traditional energy sources,” the firm said. “Between 2021 and 2022 we provided over $2 billion in financing and other services to 40 Oklahoma companies in the oil and gas space. Our business practices are not in conflict with this anti-free market decision, and we look forward to continuing to serve customers and communities in Oklahoma.”
BlackRock also disputed the characterization that it boycotts fossil fuels.
“BlackRock is a leading investor in the Oklahoma energy sector. On behalf of our clients, we invest over $15 billion in public energy companies based in Oklahoma and $320 billion in public energy companies globally. We invest billions more in renewable energy firms,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “BlackRock offers our clients the choices to help them achieve their investment objectives. Boycott lists raise costs for Oklahoma taxpayers and reduce returns for firefighters, teachers, and state employees seeking to retire with dignity.”
The move by the treasurer is just the latest foray of a
nationwide Republican effort
to push back against corporate environmental, social, and governance initiatives, known as
ESG
. Republicans and interest groups are increasingly pushing to raise the issue on the campaign trail and lump ESG principles in with broader opposition to “wokeness.”
One such group closely tied to the Republican pushback is conservative nonprofit Consumers’ Research, which has poured millions of dollars into splashy ad buys and advocacy efforts against ESG. Its executive director, Will Hild, praised the move by Oklahoma on Wednesday.
“Every day, more Americans are becoming aware of the ESG scam, and our most resolute elected officials are standing for American values and fiduciary duty and refuse to cave to the radical leftist agenda,” he said.
Proponents see the integration of ESG principles as a way that finance and business can cause social change — for example, by mitigating climate change. But opponents, like Republicans and state officials in states resilient on their oil and gas industries, see the push as an attempt to distort the free market and even the culture of the country through capital and influence.
Last month, Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry
announced a “multi-pronged” effort
focusing on the Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee, specifically scrutinizing Franklin Templeton and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. The investigation seeks to determine whether the groups breached their obligations to investors by prioritizing climate initiatives.
At the federal level last month, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) introduced the Fair Access to Banking Act,
which would mandate
banks with more than $100 billion in total consolidated assets to provide fair access to banking services, capital, and credit to industries. The goal is to prevent banks from choking off financial services to politically divisive companies such as gun manufacturers and oil and gas companies.
ESG became an even more pronounced matter of contention earlier this year when President Joe Biden
issued the first veto of his presidency
in response to anti-ESG legislation.
Congress had passed a resolution to cancel a Biden-era Labor Department rule that allows retirement plan managers to weigh ESG factors when making investments. Centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Jon Tester (D-MT) joined with Republicans on the issue in the narrowly divided Senate. Biden’s veto effectively killed the measure as lawmakers don’t have nearly enough support to override it.
ESG is also
teed up to become an issue
during the 2024 presidential race. One GOP candidate, 37-year-old entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, has even predicated part of his campaign on bashing ESG and so-called “woke capitalism.”
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West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore, who has been a major anti-ESG crusader and is now vying for a seat in Congress, told the Washington Examiner late last year that he expects the issue to be part of the political discourse in the lead-up to the 2024 elections.
“It’s gonna be part of this national conversation, I think. If you’re at the national level, they are talking about this issue,” Moore said.
