By: CBS News
July 16, 2020
The Trump Administration is moving to dramatically curtail “socially responsible” investments, an area that has seen a surge of interest in recent years amid mounting alarm about climate change.
The Department of Labor is proposing to change a rule governing employee retirement plans to discourage money managers from so-called socially responsible investing. Under the plan, employers and others who run 401(k) or pension plans would be required to consider only the financial return an investment offers — not other factors such as its environmental impact. The proposal also bars Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investments from being the default choice in any public or private retirement plan.