Wyoming brings antitrust action against asset managers for ESG policies

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Wyoming is part of a coalition of states that has brought an antitrust enforcement action against asset managers Blackrock, State Street and Vanguard “for their coordinated and anticompetitive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) schemes to disrupt the energy industry,” according to a news release from Gov. Mark Gordon’s office.

Each defendant — three of the largest institutional investors in the world — has individually acquired substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States.

Each thereby has acquired the power to influence the policies of these competing companies and significantly diminish competition in the coal markets, the release said.

“In 2021, Blackrock, State Street and Vanguard publicly announced their respective commitment to use their shares to pressure all portfolio companies in which they held assets to align with a climate activist agenda. Those goals included reducing carbon emissions from coal by over 50%,” the release said.

“Wyoming is committed to protecting our core industries, whether from federal overreaching regulations or unfair market manipulation. I commend our attorney general for her diligence in pursuing all options to protect the coal industry,” Gordon said in the release.

“Under the guise of ESG policies, they have leveraged their holdings and voted their shares to artificially constrain the supply of coal and significantly diminish competition in the markets for coal, which resulted in increased energy prices for American consumers and extraordinary profits for the asset managers,” Gordon continued. “Pushing back against anti-competitive ESG policies, especially when they unfairly exact profits from increased energy costs to Wyoming families and businesses, is one of the ways Wyoming continues to defend our coal industry and help power the country.”

This story was published on November 30, 2024.