Republicans and a handful of Democrats in the House and Senate rebuked the White House over a rule that would allow retirement fiduciaries to invest in accordance with the environmental, social, and corporate governance movement, also known as ESG.
The Labor Department published a final rule last year that reflected the Biden administration’s directive to safeguard the economy from “climate-related financial risk that may threaten the life savings and pensions of America’s workers and families.” Under the new rule, which reverses a prohibition formerly created under the Trump administration, fiduciaries are allowed to weigh “the economic effects of climate change and other ESG considerations” as long as such concerns are relevant to a risk-and-return analysis.
