Jun. 01, 2022
June 1, 2022 Americans must be provided the information necessary to exercise their investment choices in a manner that will steer our future toward a healthy and habitable planet, not just the immediate financial returnsthat the capital market recognizes and rewards. The continued profitability of fossil fuel companies is incompatible with a habitable Planet Earth, and any entity or person or entity that invests in coal, oil, or gas companies is therefore placing a financial wager upon the destruction of Planet Earth. Such grossly immoral behavior by a company is incompatible with the values of many of their would-be shareholders, were this information generally available. The first and foremost interest of all human beings is in a habitable planet, without which no amount of money is relevant. The pathetically cramped notion of investors as concerned only with quantifiable monetary returns is a denial of their full humanity, and the panoply of other values that may be adversely impacted by the behavior of the companies in which they invest. Climate change is an existential threat to our economy. The financial risks posed by climate change to investors, other market participants, and the economy are real and well documented. Not paying attention to climate change puts business and jobs at risk. This is the right step to provide investors and other market participants with clear, consistent, and comprehensive information so they can make informed investment decisions. Shareholders deserve to understand and be protected from the increasing climate-related risks of the companies they are investing in.