ESG Controversy Impacts Retirement Funds for Teachers and Firefighters

Republican-led states are introducing regulations to stop public entities from investing in funds that consider environmental, social, and governance issues (ESG investing), which is increasingly affecting public pensions. However, state and municipal pension funds have shown strong support for ESG investing, backing resolutions in favor of the practice about 90% of the time in 2021. The battle over ESG investing has been bubbling up in Washington, too, with President Joe Biden blocking a bipartisan bill that would have nullified Labor Department rules permitting some retirement plans to consider ESG factors.