Green Investment Defies the Gravity of Trump’s Anti-ESG Era
The transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy may be under assault, but it is inevitable and stands to make its financiers a lot of money.
Even in its flop era, ESG is apparently still capable of producing big hits.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
In these days of President Donald Trump’s return to power, when entire government websites are being pulled down and scrubbed of so-called woke references, investing by environmental, social and governance factors is so roundly despised that green finance is … smashing records everywhere? Even in its flop era, ESG is apparently still capable of producing big hits.
US issuance of bonds and loans for clean-energy projects set a record of nearly $147 billion last year, according to Bloomberg NEF. Green municipal bonds jumped 22% from a year earlier despite red-state efforts (not always successful) to pass anti-ESG laws and sue green-minded investors.