Some key Republican senators who’ve slammed Wall Street’s efforts to tackle climate change are themselves big supporters of green energy.
The list includes Iowa’s Chuck Grassley, Mike Crapo of Idaho and Mitt Romney from Utah. All three have criticized environmental, social and governance investing—which helps channel money to clean energy—and opposed President Joe Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act and its climate provisions. But each has been a long-time advocate of renewable energy in their home states, and in some cases received campaign contributions from businesses that stood to gain.
From where he sits, Grassley doesn’t see a conflict between his criticism of ESG in Washington and his green advocacy at home. His spokesman, Taylor Foy, said ESG involves “coercive elements” that are contrary to Grassley’s view that capital markets should drive a low-cost shift to cleaner energy.
