DOJ backs lawsuit accusing BlackRock, others of colluding to boost ESG
Teh Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an amicus brief in support of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s antitrust lawsuit against major investment firms BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard.Paxton alleges that these companies conspired to suppress the coal market through illegal trade practices, aiming to meet environmental goals by reducing coal production by more than half by 2030. The lawsuit accuses them of deceiving investors and artificially raising prices by constricting demand for coal, violating texas antitrust laws.
Paxton states that the actions of these firms represent a horrific breach of both state and federal laws, harming energy production and consumers. The DOJ and the federal Trade Commission emphasize the importance of regulating antitrust laws in America’s energy markets to protect consumers from behaviors that diminish energy supply and inflate prices. This lawsuit is notably critically important as Paxton is campaigning for a Senate seat.
DOJ backs antitrust lawsuit accusing BlackRock and others of colluding to boost ESG
The Department of Justice filed an amicus brief supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard for allegations of antitrust violations.
Paxton filed the lawsuit against the three investment companies “for conspiring to artificially constrict the market for coal through anticompetitive trade practices.” The three companies face allegations of using their massive holdings in major coal producers to pressure them to satisfy green energy goals with a push to more than halve coal production by 2030.
In the lawsuit, the Republican attorney general accuses the companies of deceiving investors who invested in non-environmental, social, and governance funds, a framework used to assess a company’s environmental sustainability impact, and raising prices by artificially constricting demand, alleging that the companies broke Texas antitrust laws.
“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 in announcing the suit. “Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of State and federal law.”
The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission said they share an interest in “ensuring the correct application of the antitrust laws, including in America’s energy markets.”
“Doing so protects Americans from anticompetitive behavior that reduces the production of domestic energy, raises energy prices for consumers and businesses, and undermines America’s energy dominance,” the brief stated. “It also preserves competition for capital investments, providing Americans with broader and more efficient investment options.”
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The brief also cites Trump’s energy national emergency, which describes the nation’s “energy and critical minerals (‘energy’) identification, leasing, development, production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity” as “far too inadequate” to meet the country’s needs. The emergency text adds that “our Nation’s inadequate energy supply and infrastructure causes and makes worse the high energy prices that devastate Americans, particularly those living on low- and fixed-incomes,” central to Paxton’s argument and the amicus brief’s statement of interest.
The lawsuit comes as Paxton is running for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) seat in the upper chamber.
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