New York Times upset with GOP ‘punishing’ awakening companies and funders for ‘climate action’
After decades of celebrating liberal activists for lobbying companies to end racism, clean up the environment, and support abortion rights and “voting rights,” the media is now horrified by the belated countermeasures by conservatives against this corporate activism.
a The New York Times Friday’s front-page story by environmental journalists David Gillies and Hiroko Tabucci made the accusation in the headline: “The Republican Party is arming state houses against the company’s green goals.” It is clear that liberals do not “use weapons” against free markets.
The headline writer on the Internet preferred the term “punished”: “How a Republican Effort is Punishing a Corporate Regulator for Climate Action.”
They started with examples, including West Virginia, which pulled money from asset manager BlackRock that proudly “wakened” to describing climate change as an economic risk. And journalists warned that “conservative lawmakers in 15 other states are promoting similar legislation.”
It may seem strange to ordinary journalists to fight alongside the world’s largest CFO (assets under management, $10 trillion), but here we are.
Across the country, Republican lawmakers and their allies have launched a campaign to try to rein in what they see as activist companies trying to reduce the greenhouse gases dangerously heating the planet.
While liberal groups are celebrated as victorious when they push companies to do what they want, conservatives who resist are seen as fighting dirty.
In doing so, Mr. Moore and others have pushed climate change from the scientific realm into the already heated political battles over topics such as voting rights, abortion and LGBT issues. In recent months, conservatives have gone beyond harsh words and used legislative and financial leverage to pressure the private sector to abandon climate action and any other reasons they describe as “wake up.”
“There is a concerted effort to de-escalate corporate engagement on these issues,” said Daniela Palo Aris, chief executive of the Leadership Now Project, a nonprofit that wants companies to address threats to democracy. It is an effective campaign. Companies are starting to hide.”
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These efforts come after years during which many in the financial sector have bragged that they were prioritizing environmental, social and governance issues, also known as ESGs, rather than pure profits.
This activity has often put companies at odds with the Republican Party, which is traditionally the ally of big business….
Even when reporters acknowledge the left-wing pressure, it has been couched in positive terms.
With increasing signs of global warming over the past five years — in the form of more destructive storms and fires, record heat and drought — and pressure from consumers and liberal groups to take action grows, he has warmed to the concept of using capital and markets to create a cleaner economy.….
Note that Republicans are not positively portrayed as trying to save coal or oil jobs but are merely trying to “slow… progress”.
However, Republican lawmakers have become more organized in their efforts to slow companies’ progress on climate issues.
Tabucci previously linked the oil industry (which she covered) to white supremacy, in a now-deleted tweet saying: “I’ve been thinking a lot about fossil fuels and white supremacy lately. Almost every oil official, lobbyist, and spokesperson I’ve dealt with are white and men. It’s hard not to You see a link.
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