'A step in the right direction' but more work to be done, Treasurer Moore says
West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore today commended JPMorgan Asset Management and State Street Global Advisors for their choice to withdraw from Climate Action 100+, an international investor network that attempts to influence corporations to implement net-zero and decarbonization policies that negatively affect states with coal, oil and natural gas industries.
Riley Moore, State Treasurer
“This is a step in the right direction and significant victory in our states’ fight against the international corporate collusion targeting the coal, oil and natural gas industries,” Treasurer Moore said. “West Virginia and our coalition of states have been fighting for years against these efforts to boycott and curtail capital to our critical energy industries and diminish important economic activity and revenue for our states. This is a sign our efforts are making an impact.”
The Financial Times reported earlier today the two companies – which are two of the largest asset managers in the United States – were quitting the $68 trillion global alliance, determining its policy initiatives were not consistent with the companies’ independent engagement and stewardship efforts.
The Climate Action 100+ group has been under intense scrutiny from members of Congress and state officials due to potential anti-trust and anti-competitive practice concerns. Recently, a coalition of state Attorneys General – including West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey – wrote a letter to the nation’s 50 largest asset managers warning, “Potential unlawful coordination appears throughout Climate Action 100+’s documents.”
Treasurer Moore said the companies’ decisions were the latest sign the efforts in recent years by his Office and the broader coalition of states to combat environmental, social and governance (ESG) activism in the financial services sector are producing positive results for our citizens and the broader economy.
“Our coalition of states has been proactive in using our collective power in the marketplace to fight back against these anti-American and anti-competitive ESG practices that have pervaded our largest global financial institutions, including those that wish to handle public funds,” Treasurer Moore said.
Over the last three years, Treasurer Moore has championed multiple efforts to oppose ESG investment schemes. In November 2021, Treasurer Moore announced a 15-state coalition of state Treasurers and financial officers who have committed to reforming their state banking contract process to prohibit awarding state banking contracts to financial institutions that are engaged in boycotts of America’s traditional energy industries.
The following January, Treasurer Moore became the first state official to divest roughly $8 billion from BlackRock over its ESG activism. He also created the nation’s first Restricted Financial Institutions List, which renders firms ineligible for state banking contracts due to anti-fossil fuel policies.