by WorldTribune Staff, December 2, 2024 Real World News
In what is seen as the highest-profile case against the ESG industry to date, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 10 other state attorney generals have filed a lawsuit against BlackRock Inc., Vanguard Group Inc., and State Street Corp. for allegedly breaking antitrust law by conspiring to cut coal producers’ output.
In a Nov. 27 press release, Paxton said the firms, “three of the largest institutional investors in the world,” conspired to “artificially constrict the market for coal through anticompetitive trade practices.”
The firms used their market clout and membership in climate groups to pressure coal producers to cut output, causing Texans and residents of the other states to pay higher power bills, the lawsuit charges.
“These firms also deceived thousands of investors who elected to invest in non-ESG funds to maximize their profits. Yet these funds pursued ESG strategies notwithstanding the defendants’ representations to the contrary,” the press release said.
According to the lawsuit, Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street “utilized the Climate Action 100 and the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative to signal their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans across the United States.”
“Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponization of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicized ‘environmental’ agenda. BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street formed a cartel to rig the coal market, artificially reduce the energy supply, and raise prices,” Paxton said. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of State and federal law.”
Joining Texas in the lawsuit are Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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