Anti-ESG continues to have some success in 2025, winning allies at the federal level and seeing a slew of states pass laws related to ESG investing. Laws prohibiting or discouraging ESG investing have been a staple of the anti-ESG movement for years now. Passage of these laws peaked in 2023, but we’ve seen a steady stream of legislation in subsequent years. Ballotpedia writes of 2025:
“This year, states with Republican trifectas passed legislation opposing ESG investing, while states with Democratic trifectas passed legislation supporting it. Of the 27 bills passed in 2025, 21 opposed ESG in Republican trifectas, and three supported ESG in Democratic trifectas. Divided governments passed the remaining three bills.”
The article goes on to discuss the types of bills passed stating:
- “Seven passed anti-discrimination laws prohibiting banks and government agencies from using ESG scores (also known as social credit scores) to determine individual or business eligibility for financial services.
- Four passed sole fiduciary laws prohibiting or discouraging officials or advisers managing funds on behalf of a state from considering ESG factors in public investments (like pension funds).
- Three passed anti-boycott laws prohibiting the state from contracting with or investing in companies that intentionally boycott certain companies or industries without a business purpose.
- Three passed public disclosure requirement laws requiring additional transparency on the ESG policies, investments, and considerations of state investment boards and other government agencies.
- One passed a consumer and investor protection law giving individuals the ability to sue for ESG discrimination under its consumer protection laws.”
So far this year is trending towards less pro-ESG legislation from blue states, as the number of bills pro-ESG bills passed is down from 9 to 3. Anti-ESG legislation is set to be on par with or exceed last year’s 25 bills, with 24 passing so far. It appears that anti-ESG is a higher priority for red states than pro-ESG is for blue states. We’ll see how these laws impact broader sustainable finance and if any get challenged in court.
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