Liberals Are Hijacking Public Pension Funds for Political Uses

Leftists in California and New York have taken over pension funds and are using pensioners’ money to threaten energy companies into “decarbonizing“:

Top U.S. pension funds are asking electric utilities to accelerate efforts to cut carbon emissions but will not force the issue with proxy resolutions this spring, hoping market shifts and falling prices for renewable energy have already made executives and directors receptive to the goal.

Investors including New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who oversees retirement funds, and leaders of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System are asking the 20 largest publicly traded electric generators in the United States for detailed plans for achieving carbon-free electricity by 2050 at the latest, according to material seen by Reuters.

They also seek other steps like board commitments and tying progress to executive pay.

Stringer termed decarbonization a “financial necessity” in a statement sent by a spokeswoman. “This initiative makes clear that mobilizing for the planet goes hand-in-hand with protecting our pensions, and we need these commitments now.”

Making electricity carbon-free by 2050 will be key to meeting the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to constrain global warming, the investor group said in a separate statement. They praised a December announcement by Xcel Energy Inc that it will aim for carbon-free generation by 2050.

Needless to say, this is a gross abuse of pensioners. The goal of a pension fund is to maximize investor returns, not use money to suit pet political causes.

What’s next, donating pensioner money to Democrat politicians to “invest in the future?” These corrupt funds need to be sued and forced to perform their basic duties; They’re effectively stealing pension money from retirees, and they’re brazen enough to do it right out in the open.