July 07, 2020

The Wall Street Journal: Eugene Scalia Off the Mark on ESG Investing

Mr. Scalia overlooks that ESG funds routinely outperform other offerings and ignores well-documented economic risks from climate change.

Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia proclaims his department is doing right by retirees by making it harder to invest with environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in mind (“Retirees’ Security Trumps Other Social Goals,” op-ed, June 24). Mr. Scalia claims retirement advisers shouldn’t consider these factors because “retirees’ security trumps other social goals.”

 

Mr. Scalia overlooks that ESG funds routinely outperform other offerings and ignores well-documented economic risks from climate change. Unlike Mr. Scalia, investors know climate change threatens investments. Mr. Scalia even admitted, himself, investors want ESG investing, and reports predict this trend will surge. Instead of limiting ESG considerations, Mr. Scalia should call for strong ESG standards and risk disclosures, such as those in my Climate Risk Disclosure Act.

It’s no surprise Mr. Scalia is on the wrong side here—the Trump administration has worked to roll back nearly 100 environmental safeguards. But he’s even on the wrong side of Wall Street. In January, BlackRock announced it will “make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as a core goal” and will release climate disclosures for their mutual funds.

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Read the full Letter to the Editor on the Wall Street Journal here.


By:  Senator Elizabeth Warren
Source: The Wall Street Journal