Over a dozen Republican attorneys general warned a leftist climate group that it may be illegally attempting to eliminate fossil fuels from the American economy, according to a letter obtained by The Daily Wire.
Led by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, 17 attorneys general sent a letter on Tuesday to the group As You Sow, raising questions about its climate activism. As You Sow is a nonprofit that works “to change corporations from the inside out” and move the economy away from fossil fuels through shareholder advocacy.
“As You Sow, a little-known but influential member of the climate cartel, is attempting to eliminate the fossil-fuel industry, which will have a devastating impact on Montanans, especially in the winter when we need fossil fuels to heat our homes,” Knudsen told The Daily Wire. “Their efforts to push their green, woke agenda and box out the fossil-fuel industry appear to be a violation of antitrust and Montana consumer protection laws.”
As You Sow wants to “transition” the economy from being based on “fossil-fuel based energy to clean energy sources” and wants to “promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy.”
“As You Sow’s efforts to eliminate fossil fuels and transform the American economy are an assault on American families and businesses. It must stop,” the Republican officials wrote in their letter. “As You Sow demands artificial transformations of entire markets and sectors, inevitably impacting the output and quality of the goods and services produced by those sectors. Moreover, As You Sow seeks change that uniformly aligns with its predetermined policy agenda.”
One of the As You Sow initiatives scrutinized by the Republican officials included its “Invest Your Values” tool. This tool “analyzes the climate and social impact” of mutual funds and 401(k)s.
The Invest Your Values tool says that some retirement funds should “exclude ESG risky companies” like fossil fuels companies and gun manufacturers while incorporating “a gender-lens investment lens.”
The letter was also signed by the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
“As Attorneys General, we have a duty to protect the citizens of our States from unlawful business practices, and we are prepared to enforce antitrust laws if necessary to stop any illegal conduct by As You Sow,” they said.
The letter also raised questions about the relationship between As You Sow and As You Know, a company that says it harnesses “the power of shareholders to create lasting change and align investments with values.” As You Sow is the majority shareholder of As You Know and has an exclusive license to the ESG data gathered by As You Sow.
“If companies do what As You Sow demands, they will score more favorably on As You Know’s benchmarks sold to them and to investors, which in turn influence investments and proxy voting,” the officials wrote in their letter.
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The letter was supported by Will Hild, the executive director of the group Consumers’ Research.
“For years, activist organization, As You Sow, has been pressuring companies and organizations to adopt a radical climate agenda that would drive up costs, destroy reliable energy, and make things more expensive for consumers,” Hild told The Daily Wire. “Instead of focusing on things like lower energy costs or strengthening the American economy, As You Sow’s only priority is to reshape the energy sector to meet senseless net-zero benchmarks.”
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