Growing numbers of companies, banks, universities and investment houses are adopting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards and disclosure rules. They're pressured to do so by activists, legislators and regulators. Many expect to get rich via taxpayer-subsidized "renewable" energy projects.
Nearly all hope to "greenwash" their reputations, by claiming they'll "make the world a better place," by reducing fossil fuel emissions, and thus planetary temperatures and extreme weather events.
They recently got a boost from the US House of Representatives. It voted 215-214 party-line to pass a bill supporting Securities and Exchange Commission plans to impose new ESG rules requiring publicly traded companies to disclose "climate risks" allegedly caused by oil, gas and coal production and use. Some think the SEC might now give greater scrutiny to ESG climate claims and misconduct, but that seems unlikely.
