Kentucky Blacklists Financial Institutions Boycotting Energy Companies

Coal that will be burned to generate electricity moves down a conveyor belt at the American Electric Power Co. (AEP) coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Winfield, West Virginia, U.S., on Wednesday, July 18, 2018. American Electric Power Co., Duke Energy Corp., and others say they can't recoup money they spent to meet requirements to cut mercury and other air toxics from their facilities and therefore want the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to retain the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule as is. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Kentucky state Treasurer Allison Ball released a blacklist of 11 financial institutions engaged in energy company boycotts, which could make them subject to complete divestment by state entities after 120 days.

The list is mandated by a recently passed Kentucky law that the state treasurer supported, which requires the state Treasury to annually report financial companies engaged in energy company boycotts. Treasury crafted it after a review of publicly available statements and commitments made by the companies.

The financial companies on the list include BlackRock, Inc., BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., Climate First Bank, Dankse Bank A/S, HSBC PLC, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Nordea Bank ABP, Schroders PLC, Svenska Handelsbanken AB, and Swedbank AB.

The press release explained:

Within 30 days of a state governmental entity receiving notice of this list, they must notify the Treasurer if they own direct or indirect holdings of listed financial institutions. They must also send written notice to the listed financial institutions. Within 90 days of the financial institutions receipt of notice, the financial institution must cease boycotting energy companies in order to avoid divestment.

“Energy company boycotts hurt Kentucky,” a press release that accompanied the announcement stated, adding, “All listed financial companies must stop engaging in the energy company boycott to avoid becoming subject to divestment.”

The energy sector represents roughly eight percent of Kentucky’s total employment, and the natural resources account for almost 95 percent of the state’s electrical power generation. Ball said:

When companies boycott fossil fuels, they intentionally choke off the lifeblood of capital to Kentucky’s signature industries. Traditional energy sources fuel our Kentucky economy, provide much needed jobs, and warm our homes. Kentucky must not allow our signature industries to be irreparably damaged based upon the ideological whims of a select few.

Several of these companies have already been targeted by other states, such as West Virginia and Texas, which both came out with their own list. However, Ball’s list is just her latest effort to oppose the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policy movement, as she has been at the forefront of the fight against leftist activism in financial investing.

Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.