Anti-ESG advocates argue that paying attention to environmental, social and governance issues is turning capitalism on its head.But evidence is mounting that the attempts to evade ESG investing are costing taxpayers and public pensioners a lot of money, Avery Ellfeldt reports for POLITICO’s E&E News.

Kansas Republican lawmakers are proposing a bill to prohibit any state entity from giving preferential treatment to — or discriminating against — finance firms based on ESG factors. But the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System predicts it could cause more than $1 billion in losses due to the early sale of assets and could reduce returns by $3.6 billion over a decade.

All told, KPERS said, the bill’s required divestment combined with reduced future returns “could negate 10 years of funding progress made by the state.”A similar bill in Indiana could cost its public pension fund $6.7 billion in losses over the next decade, the state’s office of fiscal and management predicted in February. Lawmakers then amended the bill to reduce its scope and potential cost, down to $5.5 million, which seems to have been more palatable. It cleared a key financial committee later in the month.

Want to go anti-ESG? It’ll cost you – POLITICO