Climate change is not a partisan issue in many countries. Both right-wing and left-wing parties support policies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, even as they fight over policy details. This consensus has allowed the European Union to make significant cuts in emissions over the last few decades as the threat of global warming becomes more apparent.
Of course, in the United States, climate is a partisan issue. Nearly all elected Democrats support action to slow climate change. Republicans in key policy-making positions, including members of Congress and Republican nominees for the Supreme Court, do not support these policies.
Today The Times is publishing an article examining another part of the problem at the state level. I’ll pass the rest of today’s main newsletter to my colleague who wrote the article, his David Gelles.
Since the election of President Donald Trump, American corporations have increasingly been embroiled in the country’s culture wars. decided that it was necessary to express a position.
Corporate America’s stance on these issues is an attempt to reflect the values of its employees and customers, many of whom are young and live in metropolitan areas. As a result, the positions of these companies are generally aligned with those of the Democrats, leading to considerable struggle by Republicans. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at one point warned businesses to “stay out of politics,” while other conservatives mocked “awakened capitalism.”
More recently, Republican officials have also begun to find ways to fight back. The Florida legislature earlier this year stripped Disney of its special tax status because it opposed a new education law called “Don’t Say Gay” by opponents. But perhaps the Republican Party’s most important initiative has gone largely unnoticed so far. Republican state treasurers are taking steps to punish companies they say focus too much on environmental issues.
Last week, West Virginia Treasurer Riley Moore used a new state law to ban five Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, from doing business with the state. industry.
Similar bans are probably underway elsewhere. Lawmakers in several other states, including Kentucky and Oklahoma, have already passed laws similar to West Virginia’s. Legislators in a dozen more states are working on similar bills.
Treasurers in three states also withdrew a combined $700 million from investment funds managed by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, for opposing environmental stances.
These efforts to punish companies are part of a larger push by Republican Treasurers to promote fossil fuels and block climate action at both the federal and state levels. Treasurers work in partnership with a network of conservation groups associated with the fossil fuel industry, including the Heritage Foundation and the Heartland Institute.
When I spoke with Moore, he framed his efforts to punish Wall Street corporations as a way to protect the livelihoods of West Virginians. If banks don’t want to do business with coal companies, why should they do business with them?
In response, banks say coal is a bad investment and all industries will have to fight climate change. I am adding that there are.
Still, these battles bring the United States closer to a red-branded and blue-branded world. In that world, politics comes to affect parts of life that were once thought to be separate. People on both sides of the aisle are concerned that things have gone too far.
“I don’t like the idea that Republicans have to bank with this company and Democrats have to bank with that company,” said Republican attorney Noah Friend. A Kentucky treasurer and official trying to block climate action, he was one. “There are already many departments in this country.”
However, it seems unlikely that this trend will stop anytime soon. For both Democrats and Republicans, the content of these battles on climate, civil rights, religious liberty, etc. tends to outweigh the abstract principle that everything should not be partisan.
You can read my story here, which includes details on the many ways Republican Treasurers are promoting fossil fuels.
the latest news
politics
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The Biden administration declared the monkeypox outbreak a national health emergency and released additional funding.
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Senator Kirsten Cinema, a leading centrist, has agreed to go ahead with a revised version of the Democratic climate and tax bill.
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Kari Lake, who campaigned on false claims for the stolen 2020 election, won the governorship in Arizona’s Republican primary.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has suspended Tampa’s top prosecutor, who has vowed not to prosecute abortion cases.
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Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who has broken with democratic traditions and criticized a “mixed-race” society, spoke yesterday at a Republican conference in Dallas.
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“No one poses a greater threat to our country than Donald Trump.” Former Vice President Dick Cheney In a campaign ad for his daughter Liz.
International
Opinion
The defeat of Peter Meyer proves that while political violence is a serious concern, we cannot run a winning campaign about it. Catherine Miller claim.
Is This Suburban New Jersey Town Giving Its Residents Cancer? Public Health Officials Say It Should Be Easier To Find Marion Renault.
morning reading
The Loch Ness Monster: New evidence is giving hope to some Nessie enthusiasts.
Break Barriers: Chun Wai Chang is the first Chinese-born principal dancer with the New York City Ballet.
modern love: What would have happened to them had they been raised to believe that love was never a sin?
Times Classic: How American families are changing.
Tips from Wirecutter: Think “carb cans.”
Living life: Conceptual painter Jennifer Bartlett was a maverick best known for her “Rhapsody,” a collection of 987 enamelled steel plates over 150 feet. She died at the age of 81.
sports news from athletics
The 2022 NFL season has begun. of Las Vegas Raiders beat Jacksonville Jaguars A contest held last night at the league’s annual Hall of Fame game by guys rarely seen in meaningful regular season action. to next week.
Ohtani Watch starts again: Los Angeles Angels pitching-hitting unicorn and 2021 MLB MVP Shohei Ohtani wasn’t traded this week.But the words are Otani intention change team — it’s simply a matter of when. Ohtani hit two homers last night. at a loss.
The English Premier League season starts today. arsenal When crystal palace Kick off today at 3pm ET. Predicting the season? Manchester City is Runaway Favorites.
art and ideas
back to the 80’s
One summer 40 years ago, a series of classic sci-fi titles were created, including Blade Runner, ET, Tron, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and The Thing. These films stretched the genre outward to feel like the blueprints for today’s blockbusters: horror, headache drama, home cooking and franchise sequels, Adam Neyman wrote in The Times. I’m here.
Even if you didn’t grow up on these movies, do you still find them innovative? I requested. “I don’t know how we got this far without knowing that Spock was going to die at the end,” said Celia Rose Gooding, the star of the latest “Star Trek” series. “I feel like a terrible franchise member.”