GOP hypocrisy on green investments, explained

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     March 2, 2023 Hi, I'm Michael Mechanic, Mother Jones senior editor and author of a [recent book]( about American wealth and its discontents. My wife gets annoyed when I express doubt about humanity’s ability to prevail in the face of the climate crisis, but the political winds aren’t improving my mood. The dinosaurs are seeking their revenge. Yesterday, in the latest salvo against “woke” capitalism, the Senate [nixed]( a Labor Department rule that would have allowed—merely allowed—the managers of retirement plans like 401(k)s to consider environmental and social factors in their fund offerings. The proposed rule was meant as a course correction to Trump-era [guidance]( from the department, which emphasized that any 401(k) manager who let clients invest in ESG funds—mutual funds that prioritize companies with strong environmental, social, and governance ratings—needed to be damn sure no profits were sacrificed in the process. Siding with the Republicans in Wednesday’s vote were Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia—the only Democrat I know who might welcome coal in his Christmas stocking. “ESGs by itself could just kill our economy,” he told Fox News. That’s hogwash. ESG funds, despite their greenwashing flaws, have been doing well. Over the past five years, for instance, the average annual return on Fidelity’s [US Sustainability Index]( bested that of Fidelity’s [500 Index](, which tracks the S&P 500. They are hugely popular in Europe, and plenty of US workers, too, would accept a lower return if it meant investing in less-evil enterprises. But the anti-ESG backlash led by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is [taking a toll]( on the industry. (Following [Florida’s lead](, a coalition of 15 state financiers is [working to divest]( government assets from any bank that refuses to bankroll fossil fuel projects.) This is insanity—for the climate and common good alike. The notion, after all, that profit needn’t be the be-all, end-all goal of corporations and investors is hardly radical. In August 2019, the Business Roundtable, representing the CEOs of America’s largest public corporations—hardly a progressive bunch—released [a statement]( declaring that there’s more to capitalism than shareholder value. Companies, it said, must commit to “all stakeholders,” treat employees right, contribute to local communities, and respect the environment. It included phrases like “diversity and inclusion” and “sustainable practices.” Plenty of people were skeptical. But for a brief moment a few years ago, it did seem the business world and American public were embracing “woke”—a concept that [originated]( in the 1920s, according to Vox culture reporter Aja Romano, as “a call to global Black citizens to become more socially and politically conscious”—as a positive thing. Now the tables have turned. Jurassic World is rising again. I pray we survive it. —Michael Mechanic Advertisement [House Subscriptions Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Another Santos Scandal? He Diverted Voter Registration Money to a GOP-Allied Gay Rights Site.]( The funds financed a project associated with Richard Grenell, a top Trump aide who raised cash for Santos. 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