House Republicans argue Tim Walz's embrace of ESG for state pension fund raised energy costs

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday published an interim staff report that accuses Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz's investment board of raising energy costs for consumers by using the state's retirement savings fund to pursue left-wing energy goals.

Walz, who is currently running for vice president, is the chairman of the Minnesota State Board of Investment (MSBI). Under his tenure, Republicans say, the state's pension fund embraced environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals. Some states, such as Kentucky, have banned asset managers handling state retirement systems from considering ESG factors when making investments with state funds over concerns that it doing so will result in a lapse of fiduciary duty to investors.

The committee accused the MSBI of using $140 billion in the state pension fund to pursue those liberal ESG goals, and also accused it of colluding with other "climate cartel investors" behind the scenes that pushed Walz's “net-zero” climate campaign into the broader U.S. economy. 

The committee claimed that Xcel Energy, which is one of the country's largest electric and gas companies, was one of the corporations that caved to pressure from the climate cartel and made a series of "net-zero" commitments, which raised its electricity prices in the Midwest.

"In light of the continued collusion among climate cartel investors like the MSBI, the Committee’s investigation remains ongoing to inform potential legislative reforms," the committee said in a news release.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.