Investor says ESG policies will 'end up starving' and 'killing' the world's poor children
Investor Kyle Bass argued that environmental, social, governance policies will starve the global poor and lead to economic despair by forcing a transition away from fossil fuels that the world is not ready for.
A financier issued a chilling warning Tuesday about the harmful impacts environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies will have on energy and food supply worldwide.
Kyle Bass, an American investor who founded Conservation Equity Management, a private equity firm focused on environmental issues, made the comments on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
"The desire for the world to engage in alternative energy is one that I think we all would love to see happen, but there are certain scientific realities and there are certain narratives that get pushed by NGOs and teenagers. And I think we've been taking policy cues from NGOs and teenagers for a long time," Bass said.
"Look, I launched a conservation based private equity firm last year, I care very much about our planet, don't get me wrong. Just because I'm from Texas doesn't mean that I love oil and gas," he continued.
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In this photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange, trader Aaron Ford works on the floor, Friday, March 11, 2022. (Allie Joseph/New York Stock Exchange via AP)
"But there's a duality, you have to have more oil and gas for a longer period of time than everyone believes for us to get into a proper transition policy and even [J.P. Morgan CEO] Jamie Dimon said that the other day," he said.
Bass noted, "These transitions take forty years, Joe. The move from coal to natural gas took forty years. They take a very, very, very long time. We can't just flip a switch."
Bass argued that "the real poor" are being "priced out" of purchasing necessities because essentials are becoming more inflated, in large part due to ESG policies.
"These policies that are ESG driven and morally driven that we should convert everything to alternative energy tomorrow are going to end up starving the poor children in the world and killing many of them," he said.
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WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: The fire department uses a ladder truck to remove an environmental activists with the group Extinction Rebellion DC after they scaled the Wilson Building as part of an Earth Day rally against fossil fuels on April 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. The group was protesting Washington Gas's use of methane and their planned expansion of gas infrastructure. ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images))
"I can't believe it's not on the front page of every paper, everyday," he said.
ESG policies discourage investment by banks, funds, and other entities in natural gas and coal, in addition to pushing other identity politics agenda items. For example, in California, a corporate diversity law that would have fined public companies based in the state that have an all male board of directors $100,000 was struck down in court.
Opponents of ESG have argued that the policies have contributed to a lack of financing for natural gas energy projects, and hence, more dependence on Russia and OPEC countries for oil.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives with Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of World Economic Forum, to deliver a special address at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
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Republican state officials have pushed back on financial firms that promote ESG policies, arguing that said firms are not acting in accordance with their fiduciary responsibilities to their clients, which include managing retirees' pension funds.