By Florida Phoenix staff
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that his office is opening an investigation against the “climate cartel” for alleged violations of the state’s consumer-protection or antitrust laws.
In a press release, Uthmeier said his office has issued subpoenas to CDP (formerly the Climate Disclosure Project) and the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), neither of which immediately responded to Florida Phoenix’s requests for comment.
“Radical climate activists have hijacked corporate governance and weaponized it against the free market,” Uthmeier said in the release. “Florida will not sit back while international pressure groups shake down American companies to fund their ESG grift.”
“ESG” is an acronym for environmental, social, and corporate governance, criteria sometimes used in gauging whether to invest in a company. The theory is that social responsibility is good for business, but some conservatives consider the approach “woke.”
“We’re using every tool of the law to stop the Climate Cartel from exploiting businesses and misleading consumers,” Uthmeier said.
CDP is an international nonprofit the operates an independent environmental disclosure system that allows companies, capital markets, cities, states and regions “to manage their environmental impacts,” according to CDP’s website. The organization boasts that 1,000 cities, states and regions have disclosed environmental information.
SBTi, an acronym for science-based target initiatives, is a company that develops standards, tools and guidance for companies to set greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in line with what is needed to reach net-zero by 2050. SBTi was co-founded by CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, We Mean Business Coalition, the World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
According to the SBTi 2023 Monitoring Report “any profits generated by SBTi Services Limited will be gifted to the charity.”
The AG’s press release says Uthmeier’s investigation will examine “deceptive trade practices” and potential antitrust violations, including whether coordination between CDP, financial institutions and investment services constitutes unlawful market manipulation; and whether CDP’s efforts to pressure or punish companies that don’t participate is anticompetitive.
“Florida will continue defending free enterprise and protecting consumers from fraudulent ESG schemes masquerading as science,” the release says.
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: in**@************ix.com. Banner photo: Pollution is released from a smokestack (iStock image).
Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here. To support The Invading Sea, click here to make a donation. If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe at nc*****@*au.edu.
