According to defenders of the status quo, the best response to our most serious problems is to let markets work their magic; government regulation of private business activity only makes things worse. That is certainly the line that big finance is pushing when it comes to our ever-worsening climate crisis.
A case in point is the growing popularity of ESG investing, which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance responsive investing. You want to save the world, put your money in ESG funds which, according to money managers, will guarantee that your money rewards those companies that value sustainability as well as human and worker rights. What could be simpler.
One problem with this strategy is that ESG investing is largely a fraud, one that allows leading asset management companies to dramatically boost their profits, and the rest of the business community to continue on with their destructive business practices without fear of bad publicity or public action. The end result—the planetary crisis continues unabated and the investing public gets fleeced.
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Reports from the Economic Front 