Environmental, social and corporate governance, referred to as ESG, is a set of factors that conscientious capitalists use to identify worthy investments. For most of the movements relatively brief existence, ESG has fallen under the purview of sustainability experts. Recently, however, Wall Street appears to have embraced ESG with both arms - according to some estimates, last year over $41 trillion in global ESG assets were traded. This turn has liberals and environmentalists concerned that the definition of what qualifies as an ESG-friendly company may be watered-down. At the same time, prominent Republicans are decrying the use of ESG factors, claiming that its part of the "woke mobs war on fossil fuels." This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak to Rebecca Leber, a senior climate reporter at Vox. She unpacks the complex conservative position on the ESG movement and explains why she finds it so puzzling and troubling.
01-10-2023