Has anti-ESG backlash made corporate America less green?

Why climate activists must take a page from Apartheid protests to deal with dissenters

This column is for Callaway Climate Insights subscribers only, but it’s OK to share once in a while. Was it shared with you? Please subscribe.

(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Almost half of U.S. households aren’t even moderately concerned about the environment.

That’s the result of a recent survey conducted by Numerator, the data and technology company that conducts extensive market research. Specifically, they found that only 52% of U.S. households say that they are either “moderately” or “extremely” concerned about the environment. That means that 48% are not.

That stunning statistic captures the challenges that climate activists face in persuading corporate America and the U.S. government to do more to reduce global warming. In a free-market economy within a democratically-inspired political system, it’s difficult to make much headway when half the people on the boat are either not rowing or rowing in the opposite direction.