{"id":1942106,"date":"2023-06-01T17:12:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-01T21:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-esg-arguments-sway-some-at-environmental-conference\/"},"modified":"2023-06-01T17:16:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T21:16:10","slug":"anti-esg-arguments-sway-some-at-environmental-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-esg-arguments-sway-some-at-environmental-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"ESG critics influence attendees at green conference."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fanti-esg-arguments-sway-some-at-environmental-conference%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1942106&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Economist&#8217;s &#8220;Sustainability Week&#8221; Meeting: A Call to Action<\/h2>\n<div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0601\/42c07813-0343-4acf-b418-95730fba657d\/audio.mp3?length=2359629&#038;duration=197\"><\/div>\n<p>The general consensus at The Economist\u2019s \u201cSustainability Week\u201d meeting in Washington wasn\u2019t hard to miss: environmental problems pose an existential threat that the market and the government can partner to thwart.<\/p>\n<p>That perspective, which can be heard in elite technocratic circles from New York City to Brussels, came across strongly in one early question from moderator Vijay Vaitheeswaran, the publication\u2019s global energy &#038; climate innovation editor.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>\u201cDoes the arc of history bend toward sustainability?\u201d<\/h3>\n<p>Vaitheeswaran asked the crowd, seemingly invoking former President Obama\u2019s frequent references to \u201cthe arc of history.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When a panel with the White House\u2019s Heather Boushey was interrupted by a group of anti-fossil fuel protesters, Vaitheeswaran\u2019s response was initially conciliatory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe appreciate your passion,\u201d he said before moving to eject the protesters.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5306657\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01\/id5306657-economist-climate-protester-arrested-min-1200x1200.jpg\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/06\/01\/id5306657-economist-climate-protester-arrested-min-1200x1200.jpg\" alt=\"An anti-fossil fuel protester is escorted away from a sustainability event hosted by The Economist in Washington, on May 31, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times)\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, speakers were generally friendly to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles in investing, currently a partisan battleground in Washington and across the United States.<\/p>\n<p>West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore and other officials have led the charge against applying ESG principles to state money, asserting that the movement and related strategies target coal, oil, natural gas, and other hydrocarbon fuels crucial to their local economies.<\/p>\n<p>ESG defenders argue that the approach helps investors align their money with their personal values and claim that anti-ESG measures represent an assault on the free market.<\/p>\n<p>During a May 30 panel discussion, University of Pennsylvania professor Witold Henisz said there is \u201creal concern and fear\u201d in the business world surrounding ESG.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any chance that the anti-ESG movement will win,\u201d he said during that same panel.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, during a May 31 debate on ESG, criticisms of the philosophy from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anti-esg-arguments-sway-some-at-environmental-conference\/\" title=\"ESG critics influence attendees at green conference.\">pro-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/esg-the-invisible-fist-of-the-economy\/\" title=\"ESG: The Invisible Fist Of The Economy\">impact investing<\/a> standpoint moved<\/a> a few of the listeners\u2014though the vast majority remained persuaded of ESG\u2019s critical importance.<\/p>\n<p>Henisz and investor Terrence Keeley debated whether \u201cESG is vital and a necessity in the battle against climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Keeley authored a 2022 book, \u201cSustainable: Moving Beyond ESG to Impact Investing,\u201d in which he made the case against ESG as a means of realizing certain social and environmental goals.<\/p>\n<p>Virtually everyone present supported ESG as vital and necessary before the debate. Yet afterward, a small percentage had changed their minds.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening remarks, Henisz claimed the hundreds of billions in capital expenditures necessary to reach net-zero emissions could not be moved without the animating force of ESG.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ESG movement is far from perfect, but it has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mcauliffe-staffer-says-fck-off-to-reporter-asking-questions\/\" title=\"McAuliffe Staffer Says \u2018F*ck Off\u2019 to Reporter Asking Questions\">made significant strides<\/a> in aligning capital with sustainability goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Economist&#8217;s &#8220;Sustainability Week&#8221; meeting in Washington was a call to action for environmental sustainability. The general consensus was that environmental problems pose an existential threat that the market and the government can partner to thwart. Moderator Vijay Vaitheeswaran asked the crowd, &#8220;Does the arc of history bend toward sustainability?&#8221; This perspective is shared by elite technocratic circles from New York City to Brussels.<\/p>\n<p>Speakers were generally friendly to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles in investing, which is currently a partisan battleground in Washington and across the United States. However, West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore and other officials have led the charge against applying ESG principles to state money, asserting that the movement and related strategies target coal, oil, natural gas, and other hydrocarbon fuels crucial to their local economies. ESG defenders argue that the approach helps investors align their money with their personal values and claim that anti-ESG measures represent an assault on the free market.<\/p>\n<p>During a May 31 debate on ESG, criticisms of the philosophy from a pro-impact investing standpoint moved a few of the listeners\u2014though the vast majority remained persuaded of ESG\u2019s critical importance. Virtually everyone present supported ESG as vital and necessary before the debate. Yet afterward, a small percentage had changed their minds.<\/p>\n<p>In his opening remarks, University of Pennsylvania professor Witold Henisz claimed the hundreds of billions in capital expenditures necessary to reach net-zero emissions could not be moved without the animating force of ESG. \u201cThe ESG movement is far from perfect, but it has made significant strides in aligning capital with sustainability goals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The Economist&#8217;s &#8220;Sustainability Week&#8221; meeting was a reminder that we all have a role to play in protecting the environment. Let&#8217;s work together to make a difference.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Economist&#8217;s &#8220;Sustainability Week&#8221; meeting in Washington highlighted the consensus that environmental issues are a threat to existence. The market and government can work together to prevent this. This view is shared by technocrats in New York City and Brussels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":1942107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[15416,8299,4365,7003,5812,6219],"class_list":["post-1942106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-attendees","tag-conference","tag-critics","tag-esg","tag-green","tag-influence"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1942106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1942106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1942107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1942106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1942106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1942106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}