DeSantis Sparks Outrage with Plan to Tank "Woke" Companies

Photo byClimate Group

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced measures to reduce the share of “environmental, social and governance” (ESG) policies in Florida’s pension system.

DeSantis said he was “asserting the authority of our constitutional system over ideological corporate power.”

Florida governor seems to believe companies some companies are too woke for investment. It’s not a matter of profit, sustainability, or their impact on the plant. DeSantis cares more about companies being aligned to the Right than their contribution to society.

Developed economies throughout the world have been adopting ESG investing policies for almost two decades. They have set aspirational targets to reduce carbon emissions, use more renewable energy or add more diversity to the workforce.

Scientists, corporate sustainability officers, government officials, and others, including former Vice President Al Gore and John Kerry, now the US special presidential envoy for climate, gathered in New York for the New York Times Climate Forward conference last September.

The event is part of the celebration of Climate Week. This yearly global summit took place during the UN General Assembly, where the role of corporations in halting climate change and advancing social justice with panels like “Investing in Equity and the Economy.”

As businesses and investment corporations support initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address global and local imbalances, conservatives in the United States, who are strongly allied with the oil and gas sectors, plan to derail such plans. And in recent months, they have gone beyond rhetoric to penalize businesses they claim are becoming too woke.

“There’s a lot of politics around the term ESG right now,” said Reid Thomas, a managing director at JTC, a fund manager. “You’ve got different sides pushing back at each other.”

Meanwhile, ESG companies often outperform conventional companies. They strive to offer fair wages, sustainability, and environmental protection. These companies plan to have a longer future and become stronger investments over time.

What do you think about DeSantis trying to restructure the pension system’s investments?

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