September 29, 2022
Maybe you saw it scrolling through your Twitter feed. (Or maybe you’re smart and avoid Twitter like the plague.)
It was testimony by bank CEOs in front of the House Financial Services Committee.
Congresswoman Talib took the floor and rambled on and on, spouting a bunch of ESG talking points, about adjusting lending practices to align with a goal of net zero emissions in 2050.
She concluded by asking…
I would like to ask all of you and go down the list because again you have all agreed to do this, please answer with a simple yes or no, does your bank have a policy against funding new oil and gas products? Mr. Dimon.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, was unequivocal in his answer…
“Absolutely not and that would be the road to Hell for America.”
Boom!
It was a refreshingly blunt response to her demand for fealty to the ESG doctrine…
ESG?
What the hell is ESG anyway?
It’s a new push to direct how corporate America invests its capital.
ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance.
ESG was conceived two decades ago by a small group working in the United National Environment Programme Finance Initiative.
It’s meant to be a yardstick for measuring how “in line” corporations have fallen in terms of the march toward our new green future. And…
According to Paul Clements-Hunt, who led the team, the turning point for ESG was the 2007-08 financial crisis. Public trust in bankers collapsed and ESG offered them a path to redemption. “The finance sector globally needed to rebuild trust,” Clements-Hunt said. “They needed a social license to operate. And I think ESG provided part of the answer.”
The commitment to this plan, however forced, was Wall Street’s path to redemption. And it was taken by many…
The Investor Agenda’s 2022 Global Investor Statement to Governments issued ahead of this year’s UN climate conference – a demand that all companies adopt binding net zero targets – is signed by 532 investors with close to $39 trillion of assets under management.
Signing Up for Insanity
Whatever you think of the Street, they’re in business to make money. They have armies of analysts that examine every investment they look at inside and out. They understand what’s what when it comes to where they put their (your) money from a real life perspective.
And while there’s something to be said for a green agenda — the idea of expanding our potential sources of energy — the heavy handed push by the government (including departments which have no business pushing energy plans) clearly signals something is wrong with the plan.
Take a recent speech by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (who’s in the business of paying the US’s bills, not fixing the climate) at the Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center…
Given the existential threat posed by climate change, it is imperative that we address it. Our plan – powered by the Inflation Reduction Act – represents the largest investment in fighting climate change in our country’s history. It will put us well on our way toward a future where we depend on the wind, sun, and other clean sources for our energy. We will rid ourselves from our current dependence on fossil fuels and the whims of autocrats like Putin.
“…a future where we depend on the wind and the sun…”
To quote a current world leader, “C’mon man!”
Follow the Money
An energy platform that depends on the wind and the sun is not reliable. The money on Wall Street knows it. Like I said in your last letter… fossil fuels aren’t dead. And big money knows that too…
BTW… remember that Investor Agenda’s 2022 Global Investor Statement to Governments I mentioned a couple paragraphs back? Not quite everybody was on board…
…the most significant development is the omission of the three largest institutional investors. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street are not signatories.
ESG, along with the larger green movement, is going to be facing some serious headwinds in the coming months.
Say what you will about the “banksters,” they’re in it for the money. And if it’s a choice between depending on the sun and the wind or fossil fuels you know where their interests will be…
Bottom line… don’t count fossil fuel investments out just yet…
Make the trend your friend,
Bob Byrne
Editor, Streetlight Daily