Taking the measure of ESG month

Jul 28, 2023

THE WEEK THAT WAS

Rep. Patrick McHenry speaks.

House Financial Services Committee Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is moving the ball down the anti-ESG field. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo

ESG MONTH OVER...OR IS IT — House Republicans wrapped up their self-declared "ESG month" on Thursday by advancing a slate of bills aimed at discouraging investment based on environmental, social and governance principles, Jasper Goodman and Eleanor Muller report.

Over the course of six hearings this month, lawmakers on the Financial Services Committee mostly stayed away from bashing big business, as presidential candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have made hay doing.

Rather, they targeted federal agencies, as in a bill by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) that would limit the type of disclosures the Securities and Exchange Commission can compel and one by Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) to limit the SEC’s ability to regulate shareholder proposals.

The committee also sent to the full House a bill by Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) that would reform the proxy voting process and one by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) that would increase Congressional oversight of banking regulators and eliminate the Vice Chair for Supervision designation for a member of the Federal Reserve Board.

What was the point of the exercise? To whittle away at companies' willingness to come out for progressive causes, says one ESG expert.

"Will any laws change? I think the answer to that is pretty clearly no," said Josh Lichtenstein, a Ropes & Gray attorney who specializes in ESG issues. "But...together with what's happening in the states, it starts to create a sense that should companies be considering whether to engage in these matters or not, there could be potential backlash or be hauled in front of committees like this."

Sixteen states have passed anti-ESG bills this year alone, out of some 165 bills introduced. While GOP interest in the topic hasn't waned, pushback from local business groups and state pension fund officials led some states to water down or kill some of their more heavy-handed efforts.

"I increasingly think about what's going on in the House and the states as one movement," Lichtenstein said. "When you look at it from that perspective, what's happening in the House can help to set priorities for the states. I think there is a feedback loop even if the House doesn't really have the ability to pass legislation."

The beatings are likely to continue until morale improves. House Financial Services Chair Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) told Jasper on Wednesday that this month’s hearings were “an opening act.”

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EXTREMES

HOT BIDEN SUMMER — President Joe Biden rolled out a series of measures Thursday meant to protect people against the extreme heat sweeping the nation, Zack Colman reports.

The Labor Department is planning to increase inspections at job sites, the Biden administration said, noting that heat is the nation's top weather-related killer with more than 600 deaths annually. The president said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration already has conducted 2,600 workplace inspections as part of a new heat safety initiative.

“We should be protecting workers from hazardous conditions — and we will. And those states where they do not, I'm going to be calling them out,” Biden said.

Uneven protections at the state level complicate efforts to combat the impact of extreme heat and protect those most vulnerable. Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law last month nixing water and rest breaks for construction workers.

The Labor Department has not yet issued final workplace safety standards, a longtime ask of public health advocates, but OSHA is working on such a rule, and a review of its potential impacts on small businesses is scheduled for August.

The issue is garnering attention on Capitol Hill. Rep.Greg Casar (D-Texas)refused water for eight hours in a Tuesday protest to draw attention to the lack of federal standards. Dozens of lawmakers sent a letter Monday to top DOL officials urging them to finish the OSHA rule. And some lawmakers have floated legislation,H.R. 3965 (118), to allow dangerous heat waves to be declared federal disasters to unlock additional funding and resources.

Movers and Shakers

NEW CHIEF IN TOWN — Ethan Zindler, previously with BloombergNEF, is now Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s top climate adviser, Avery Ellfeldt reports for POLITICO's E&E News.

Zindler will lead Treasury’s Climate Hub and will guide the department’s work on climate-related financial risk, international climate finance and implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. Yellen said he'd bring "analytical rigor and decades of experience in the climate space to this role and to the Treasury Department."

A REBRANDED IPCC — The U.N.’s climate science body tapped the U.K.’s Jim Skea to become the new chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Zia Weise reports.

Skea says he'll focus on “three priorities” — ensuring inclusivity, expanding the IPCC’s reach and impact, and “promoting the use of the best and most relevant science.”

YOU TELL US

GAME ON — Happy Friday! Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability.

Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com.

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WHAT WE'RE CLICKING

— Historically hot weather is boosting reliance on air conditioners, highlighting a “vicious cycle” in the fight against global warming. The Washington Post explains.

— The Department of Energy is considering building the nation’s largest solar project using a site contaminated during Cold War-era production of atomic bombs, Reuters reports.

— The Consumer Product Safety Commission is being urged to establish safety standards for e-bike batteries following fatal fires blamed on defective units, the Associated Press says.

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