Tipsheet

It's a 'Bad Day for ESG' Thanks to Vanguard

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown  |  December 08, 2022 11:45 AM

Under intense public pressure and amid growing scrutiny from state governments across the nation, Vanguard announced that it was defecting from the woke "net-zero" alliance that seeks to force a decarbonization of the U.S. economy, a major blow to the efforts of ESG-pushing woke activists trying to achieve their aims by circumventing voters and their elected representatives. 

While the decision by Vanguard to untether itself from the net-zero alliance is a win in the anti-ESG fight, MarketWatch noted that the world's second largest asset management firm will still "track its progress" toward reducing emissions "as an effort to provide 'clarity' to its investors."

MarketWatch noted the significance of Vanguard's withdrawal, saying "some environmental groups who follow pledges toward net-zero greenhouse emissions from the lifeblood of the economy — the financial services and banking sector — called the exit a major blow to the effort. These groups argued that such a move is kowtowing to 'anti-woke' sentiment," their report added. That is, conservatives just won a major battle in the fight against ESG and the woke left's attempts to force an energy "transition" away from affordable and reliable American fossil fuels.

As Townhall reported earlier, BlackRock, Vanguard, and other large ESG-oriented firms were subpoenaed by the Texas legislature and called to testify about their priorities when it comes to managing customers' assets. And recently, more than a dozen state attorneys general and Consumers' Research also filed motions to block Vanguard from snapping up publicly traded utilities given its track record of working toward net-zero carbon emissions.