Nebraska, Iowa AGs join lawsuit accusing investment firms of colluding to advance green energy [Video]

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – Attorneys General in Nebraska and Iowa are joining an anti-trust lawsuit against some of the biggest finanacial firms in the world.

The 11 Republican-led states say the investment firms are artificially constricting the coal industry for financial gain. Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, West Virginia, and Wyoming have also signed on.

The Texas-led lawsuit has to do with environmental, social, and governance investing commitments, known as ESG. It refers to a methodology of investing in a socially responsible and sustainable way.

But the lawsuit filed by the states accuses several large institutional investing firms of using ESG as and excuse to artificially constrict the market for coal.

Nebraska AG Mike Hilgers says Blackrock, State Street Corp., and Vanguard acquired substantial stakes in every publicly traded coal producer in the country. That gives the investing giants the power to control the companies’ corporate policies.

Hilgers …