Dive Brief:
- A group of 23 Republican state attorneys general, led by Iowa AG Brenna Bird, sent a letter to the Science Based Targets initiative, seeking information from the organization about its corporate net-zero standards.
- The officials are particularly concerned about SBTi’s recently released net-zero standards for financial institutions, according to the Aug. 8 letter. SBTi released the first such standards for the sector in July.
- The action follows a separate probe into SBTi and CDP — formerly the Climate Disclosure Project — that Florida AG James Uthmeier initiated at the end of July. Uthmeier’s office, also signed on to the Aug. 8 letter, issued subpoenas and alleged the organizations have potentially violated state consumer protection or antitrust laws.
Dive Insight:
Bird and the state chief legal officers compare company engagement with SBTi to engagement with climate alliances Climate Action 100+ and United Nations-backed net-zero alliances like the Net Zero Banking Alliance and Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Members of such groups have been on the receiving end of state-level investigations in recent years — in addition to congressional probes — and major U.S. financial institutions left in waves ahead of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January.
The attorneys general allege that companies’ agreements with SBTi, which validates that organizations’ net-zero targets align with leading climate science, “may violate federal and state laws” and have “harmed our economies and consumers through higher energy costs.”
“[SBTi’s] program limits output of goods or services, and these unrealistic net-zero programs harm both American agriculture and industry,” Bird said in the release. “Making net-zero a goal actively harms Americans, creates risk for energy independence and increases the cost of safe, healthy, nutritious food.”
In addition to Iowa and Florida’s Bird and Uthmeier, the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming signed onto the letter.
The attorneys cite anti-ESG state laws in states like Texas, noting that SBTi reporting companies could be risking contracts with the state. The letter seeks all communications between SBTi and reporting companies on net-zero commitments and how the company would meet them; all communications on the development of the Financial Institution Net-Zero Standard; and a description of the relationship between the organization and reporting companies. The letter is also seeking information on SBTi’s funding sources, insurance companies working within SBTi’s framework and more.
The letter seeks a response by Sept. 8.
