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19 GOP governors sign statement decrying ESG 'proliferation' as 'a direct threat'
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19 GOP governors sign statement decrying ESG 'proliferation' as 'a direct threat'

A coalition of Republican governors has signed on to a statement denouncing ESG investing, the spread of which they describe as a "threat" to the U.S. economy and individual liberty.

"The proliferation of ESG throughout America is a direct threat to the American economy, individual economic freedom, and our way of life, putting investment decisions in the hands of the woke mob to bypass the ballot box and inject political ideology into investment decisions, corporate governance, and the everyday economy," the governors declare.

"We as freedom loving states can work together and leverage our state pension funds to force change in how major asset managers invest the money of hardworking Americans, ensuring corporations are focused on maximizing shareholder value, rather than the proliferation of woke ideology," the statement reads.

The governors of Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming are backing the statement.

The document lists various policies that the state leaders could pursue in their efforts to battle ESG investing practices, including "blocking the use of ESG in all investment decisions at the state and local level, ensuring that only financial factors are considered to maximize the return on investment" and "banning the financial sector from considering so called 'Social Credit Scores' in banking and lending practices aimed to prevent citizens from obtaining financial services like loans, lines of credit, and bank accounts."

"At my direction, Florida has led the way in combatting the pernicious effects of the ESG regime by directing our state pension fund managers to reject ESG and instead focus on obtaining the highest return on investment for Florida’s taxpayers and retirees," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said, according to a press release. "We will not stand idly by as the stability of our country’s economy is threatened by woke executives who put their political agenda ahead of their clients’ finances."

BlackRock chairman and CEO Larry Fink, who adheres to the dogmas of climate alarmism, claims that the issue of climate is pertinent to the field of investing.

"For years now, we have viewed climate risk as an investment risk," Fink wrote in his annual chairman's letter to investors. "Anyone can see the impact of climate change in the natural disasters in California or Florida, in Pakistan, across Europe and Australia, and in many other places around the world. There's more flooding, more wildfires, and more intense storms. In fact, it's hard to find a part of our ecology – or our economy – that's not affected."

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