‘Toxic’ Attacks on ESG Lead Wall Street to Mount a New Defense

Climate alliances backed by Wall Street heavyweights have struck upon a subtle way to blunt increasingly aggressive attacks by the GOP.

This month, a $3.3 trillion alliance calling itself the Paris Aligned Asset Owners became the latest green coalition to change the language on its website to clarify that signatories make “individual” commitments in line with their “fiduciary obligations.” Other net zero groups have made similar adjustments to show that members aren’t coordinating CO2 reductions, and that the ultimate goal is to protect asset values. Their members include BlackRock Inc., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Such rephrasings ...