Well, sure, people have a right to fight climate change, at least here in the U.S., where we have freedom to do things we want, right? They’re welcome to agitate for redress of grievance. They’re welcome to give up their own use of fossil fuels, take the bus, ride the train, walk or bike, go vegan, live in a tiny home, turn the AC up to 80 and the heat down to 60. Take short showers and only use 2 sheets of TP. But, that’s not what they mean by a Right to fight
Restoring Financial Regulators’ Right to Fight Climate Change
The Biden administration has pledged to make the climate crisis a top-tier issue, authorizing a “whole of government†to take on climate change. That would mean the responsibility to legislate environmental action wouldn’t be left up only to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy, but would extend to all agencies, including financial regulators.
This is why we can’t have nice things: climate cultists think that the Executive Office legislates. They don’t seem to understand or have knowledge of the document that is meant to guide all government in the United States. Seriously, literally the first paragraph after the preamble reads “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” The Framers thought the Legislative body was more important than the Executive, having a huge section on the Legislative first, with the Exec described in Article II. And, let’s not forget, prior to the 17th Amendment the Senate was composed of senators hand picked by state general assemblies, so, they were each voting for the legislative priorities of their own individual states, not their parties or “consciousness.”
Already, over the past few weeks, Biden’s Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it will update its guidelines on how climate risks should be disclosed to investors, and launched a task force to focus on climate-related compliance and misconduct. The SEC has also refused to help ExxonMobil block a shareholder vote on a climate-change resolution. (Although the commission did just let the company reject a shareholder proposal to force the operation to disclose what it plans to do with its untapped fossil fuel assets.)
Do they have the statutory power to do this? Perhaps, since Congress has been negligent over the years in giving Executive Office agencies way to much power and latitude to do as they choose.
For much of the latter third of the 20th Century, corporate law was dominated by the idea best summarized in economist Milton Friedman’s influential 1962 book Capitalism and Freedom that “Corporations have no higher purpose than maximizing profits for their shareholders.†In the last decade, however, shareholders have begun to push for more responsible corporate citizenship, particularly with regards to climate change.
If shareholders aren’t pushing for a return on investment, then what’s the point in being a shareholder? Oh, right, these people are left-wing kooks, pushing Modern Socialism.
Shareholder advocacy organizations are planning to legally challenge the previous administration’s attempts to clamp down on corporate climate action, and the Biden administration is not expected to let many of Trump’s financial policies stand.
WTF is a shareholder advocacy organization? Is that like people who don’t hold shares who demand that those who do Comply with their demands? Why can no one mind their own business these days, especially when it has to do with Forcing Other People to comply?
As chair of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, which works to shield the economic system from crashes, Yellen also has the ability to push all federal regulators to enact strong climate policies, such as strict limitations on fossil fuel investments. The council could also take the aggressive steps to take any other actions it deems appropriate to address climate risks, even banning fossil fuel investments altogether.
I’ll say it again: the fossil fuels companies should refuse to sell their product to these groups/agencies if they take these actions.
It is like that wise President Obama once said, “you didn’t build that”. He knew that modern CEOs and corporate board members did nothing to build those businesses. They got those jobs through connections. So they have no interest in maximizing shareholder value or the long term health of the company. They are ticks and leaches sucking the company life blood to sustain themselves and their friends. And if the host dies, they will just go get another one. Since they didn’t build it, they feel zero loyalty to the ones who did. If Corporate board members had to buy their way into boards by investing capital into the company, they would care a lot more about not squandering the wealth of the company on virtue signaling and political causes.