While all eyes were on the Middle East at the end of February, anticipating the outbreak of war, in Texas, a climate bomb dropped that blew another hole in the so-called “climate cartel.”
According to a February 26 press release from the office of Ken Paxton, Attorney General for Texas, “Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a monumental, first-of-its-kind settlement with The Vanguard Group, Inc. (“Vanguard”), resolving part of his multistate lawsuit against asset managers BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard. As part of the settlement, Vanguard has agreed to make the strongest passivity commitments in the industry and to empower its investors with proxy voting — a first for the industry. This landmark settlement represents one of the most significant enforcement actions ever taken against coordinated ESG-driven market manipulation, ensures a competitive and low-cost coal industry, and fundamentally resets the precedent for the conduct of large institutional investors.”
(Incognito)
