Republican attorneys general urge the Trump administration to oppose a set of climate-related directives from the European Union. (iStock photo/ Getty Images Plus)
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced Friday she has joined attorneys general from 22 states in urging the Trump administration to oppose environmental policy from the European Union.
The letter points to two elements of the European Union’s corporate sustainability directive and says they impose “sweeping” requirements tied to diversity, equity and inclusion and environmental, social, and governance practices, also known as DEI and ESG, that would place “severe burdens” on American businesses.
Led by Florida and West Virginia attorneys general, the letter says the reporting requirements would cost American companies financially, create disincentives for American companies that use or invest in fossil fuels, “and worse, it creates potential liability for companies who do not wish to partake in this climate radicalism.”
Bird, in a news release about the letter said the EU directives would be “bad for Iowa” and for the country.
“I’m thankful we can bring this very urgent concern to the Trump Administration and know they have our country’s best economic interests at heart,” Bird said in the release. “The EU’s radical green agenda attempts to gut our energy industry and all the industries that rely on them, including agriculture, trucking, and manufacturing.”
The European Union is set to implement the “Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive” and the “Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive” both of which require companies that do a certain amount of business in the EU or globally to file reports on their environmental and social impacts.
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, according to the EU, requires companies to publish reports detailing the “social and environmental risks they face, and on how their activities impact people and the environment.”
“This helps investors, civil society organisations, consumers and other stakeholders to evaluate the sustainability performance of companies, as part of the European green deal,” the EU stated on its website explaining the directive.
The letter from the Republican attorneys general says these reports would require an “inordinate amount of time and expense” to create and would put “conflicting pressure” on companies that have changed their environmental, social, and governance practices “in response to (President Donald Trump’s) electoral landslide.”
The letter says these reports would also make companies susceptible to “green-washing lawsuits.”
According to the EU the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive’s core elements are “identifying and addressing potential and actual adverse human rights and environmental impacts” from business operations, subsidiaries and through the value chain. This directive also requires companies to adopt a climate mitigation strategy consistent with the Paris Agreement’s 2050 climate neutrality objective.
The letter calls this directive “a demand that ESG and DEI be incorporated into companies.” The letter also objects to the “aggressive” enforcement mechanisms of the “unconstitutional and immoral requirements.”
The attorneys general end the letter asking Trump to sdirect U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to oppose the EU’s directives.
Bird signed the letter with other Republican attorneys general from Florida, West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.