House GOP Targets ‘Climate Cartel’ Over Decarbonization Efforts in American Industry

House Republicans are targeting a “climate cartel” of activists and financial organizations pushing American companies to adopt radical environmental goals, according to a report published Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee.

The report, titled “Climate Control: Exposing The Decarbonization Collusion in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investing,” presents preliminary findings from the committee's investigation into the connections between climate activists and large financial institutions. The committee reviewed 272,294 documents and 2,565,258 pages of non-public information.

“The Committee’s ongoing investigation into collusion between left-wing activists and major financial institutions has revealed that a climate cartel is working to decarbonize the U.S. economy with disastrous implications for American consumers,” the report stated. “The climate cartel has declared war on our way of life, escalating its attacks on free markets and demanding that companies slash output of the critical products and services that allow Americans to drive, fly, and eat.”

A significant portion of the 41-page report focuses on Climate Action 100+, an investor group advocating for ESG initiatives and controlling about $68 trillion in assets. Members of Climate Action 100+ are required to urge the companies they work with to “take necessary action on climate change” by “halving emissions by 2030 and delivering net zero GHG emissions by 2050, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement to pursue efforts to limit warming to 1.5°C.”

One document obtained by the committee suggested that Climate Action 100+ needed to “show that engagement can have teeth and that investors are willing to escalate pressure against companies that refuse to act.” The report argued that this push for decarbonization would increase the costs of fossil fuel, aviation, and farming.

Another group highlighted in the report is Ceres, an environmental nonprofit that helped co-found Climate Action 100+. Ceres claims it is leading a “coordinated push to harness the extraordinary power of financial system leaders to accelerate the transition of the global economy to net-zero by steering massive flows of capital. Away from investments that lock in greenhouse gas emissions.”

The committee criticized Ceres for not responding to requests for access to its Investor Portal, used to organize “engagements” with shareholders and corporations. “Despite the centrality of the Ceres Investor Portal to the climate cartel’s operations and possible antitrust violations, and its obvious responsiveness to the categories of information demanded by the Committee’s subpoena, Ceres has refused to provide the Committee with meaningful access to these materials,” the report stated, adding that all legal operations remain on the table.

The report also noted the activities of the California Public Employee’s Retirement System, which uses proxy voting and other means to push for policies in alignment with Climate Action 100+ and Ceres.

This report comes amid Republican scrutiny of the connections between climate activists and financial asset management giants like BlackRock and Vanguard. Earlier this year, BlackRock, JPMorgan, and State Street announced they would be withdrawing from Climate Action 100+, removing about $14 trillion in investments.

Neither Climate Action 100+ nor Ceres immediately responded to requests for comment.

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