On September 8, a Senior Policy Advisor for EBSA delivered remarks critical of ESG investing at an OECD conference in Paris.  The official described the consideration of ESG factors as a type of politically motivated investing and compared it to “a Marxist march through corporate culture.”  He explained that - 

…ESG is not just some side-bar political or policy issue. It's about sovereignty and security as well. Authoritarian leaders love when our member nations embrace ESG. Why? Because it lessens your prosperity and makes you less competitive. If America and other OECD member companies hamstring our nations' capital markets and pension systems with superfluous ESG costs, it only serves to benefit authoritarian regimes that do not engage in such frivolity.

The official also discussed the relationship of ESG and DEI, stating that - 

…when it comes to DEI's implementation through the "S" prong of ESG, diversity and inclusion on their own are treated as normative goods. But they aren't good, they don't produce excellence, and critically, for today's discussion, they are divorced from the social purpose of pension plans, which, again, is to provide all workers with a dignified retirement. It's equity that killed meritocracy leading to corporate mediocracy, which, in turn, sacrifices investment and pension returns, threatening the security of workers' retirement.

The official argued that the OECD has been “pushing members to politicize their pension systems by integrating ESG factors unmoored from returns" and stated that the US "is no longer going to support these policies, even tacitly.” 

The official's remarks reflect a significant shift in federal policy and are notable as EBSA is expected to rewrite the rules governing the investment-related duties under ERISA.