Adam Tooze: What Is ESG Investing and Why the Sudden Backlash?
Some Republicans are calling it “woke capitalism.”
About $139 billion flowed last year, through September, into ESG investment funds—that is, funds that invest according to various environmental, social, and governance criteria, like lower carbon emissions. It’s become a booming global business in recent years—and a controversial one, at least in the United States. Republican officials have accused ESG investment funds of “woke capitalism”—of unfairly hurting businesses in favor of an extraneous political agenda. Last week, Republicans in Congress voted to block a Labor Department rule that would allow retirement plan managers to incorporate ESG criteria into their investment decisions. Similar laws have been passed in Republican-controlled states across the country, to the consternation of liberals—and investors.
Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi
More from Foreign Policy

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?
The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World
It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.
Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing
The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.
Join the Conversation
Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.
Already a subscriber?
.Subscribe Subscribe
View Comments
Join the Conversation
Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.
Subscribe Subscribe
Not your account?
View Comments
Join the Conversation
Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.