from ZeroHedge:
Texas is leading a new lawsuit with 10 other red states against BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street for allegedly breaking antitrust law by colluding to suppress coal – causing electricity prices to spike.
“Competitive markets — not the dictates of far-flung asset managers — should determine the price Americans pay for electricity,” wrote Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the complaint.
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The Republican-led states, including West Virginia and Montana, are asking the court to bar the three largest US investment firms from using their stock in coal companies to vote on shareholder resolutions and take other steps in a way that restrains output and limits market competition. -Bloomberg
The complaint, filed in Tyler, Texas, is one of the highest profile lawsuits targeting companies that promote environmental, social and governance goals, or ESH.
“Over several years, the three asset managers acquired substantial stockholdings in every significant publicly held coal producer in the United States, thereby gaining the power to control the policies of the coal companies. Using their combined influence over the coal market, the investment cartel collectively announced in 2021 their commitment to weaponize their shares to pressure the coal companies to accommodate “green energy” goals,” the complaint continues.
“Blackrock, Vanguard, and State Street utilized the Climate Action 100 and the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative to signal their mutual intent to reduce the output of thermal coal, which predictably increased the cost of electricity for Americans across the United States.”
The ‘cartel’ is accused of “deliberately and artificially constricting supply,” which “increased prices and enabled investment companies to produce extraordinary revenue gains.”
The other states involved in the lawsuit are Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia and Wyoming.
