ESG Scam: Big Finance and Global Elite’s Power Play

The rise of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles has been heralded as a transformative step toward a sustainable and equitable future. But beneath the glossy promises lies a system designed not for societal benefit but for the enrichment of a few powerful entities. The major players—BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, often referred to as the “Big Three”—alongside the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos, have successfully turned ESG into a scam of global proportions. This isn’t about saving the planet or empowering people; it’s about consolidating control and ensuring profits at the expense of everyone else.

The ESG Power Grab: Corporate Boards

Corporations are being strong-armed into compliance with ESG standards under the guise of sustainability. The Big Three use their colossal investment power to influence corporate boards, forcing CEOs and directors to adopt ESG policies or face exclusion from their vast portfolios. For example, ExxonMobil was famously targeted by an activist hedge fund supported by BlackRock, which successfully installed directors focused on ESG reforms. This push wasn’t about saving the environment—it was about gaining control over one of the world’s largest energy companies. The same strategy has been applied to countless other firms, ensuring that ESG-aligned policies are implemented across industries, regardless of their financial or operational viability.

Governments in ESG Shackles

The grip of ESG scam extends beyond corporations, reaching into the heart of governments. Green energy subsidies and net-zero pledges are sold as virtuous policies, but global finance rather than local needs often dictate them. Governments in the West have committed trillions to fund the green transition, much of it financed by institutions pushing ESG scams. Take the European Union’s Green Deal as an example: it’s a capital-intensive, state-backed project that benefits the same financial giants who hold the keys to green bonds and transition funds. Meanwhile, nations in the BRICS bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—are conspicuously exempt from such stringent ESG compliance, further exposing the hypocrisy.

Trapping Small Businesses: B Corps and Employee Ownership

Networks of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are also being corralled into the ESG scam fold through schemes like B Corp certification and employee ownership models. While marketed as empowering and ethical, these schemes burden businesses with costly compliance requirements that often make them reliant on external financing from—you guessed it—the Big Three. The B Corp badge, for instance, is essentially a subscription to a playbook dictated by ESG overlords. It’s not about fostering innovation or competitiveness; it’s about forcing conformity to a model that benefits global capital at the expense of local resilience.

How Big Finance and WEF Profit

The Big Three and the WEF (World Economic Forum) benefit from ESG in two significant ways:

1. Financing the Green Transition:
   The green transition is extraordinarily capital-intensive, requiring trillions of dollars in investments for infrastructure, technology, and policy implementation. Much of this spending is underwritten by governments, meaning taxpayers foot the bill. The financial institutions facilitating this transition rake in fees, interest, and guaranteed returns while facing minimal risk.
2. Ignoring ESG for BRICS Investments:
   The double standard is striking. While Western companies and governments are forced to comply with ESG standards, the Big Three hold substantial stakes in BRICS nations, where such constraints are conveniently absent. This creates a perverse situation where Western industries are handicapped by ESG, while emerging markets operate freely, often using cheaper, traditional energy sources. The result? BRICS economies become more competitive, while the West becomes less so.

The Cost to the West: A Lose-Lose Scenario

While the Big Three and the WEF enjoy their spoils, the fallout for Western economies and citizens is devastating:

1. Inflated Energy Costs and Rising Inflation:
   ESG policies prioritise green energy solutions that are not yet cost-effective or scalable. This drives up the price of energy, which in turn inflates the cost of goods and services, contributing to widespread inflation. Consumers bear the brunt, paying more for necessities while their wages lag behind.
2. Erosion of Profit-Driven Efficiencies:
   ESG replaces the profit motive with a compliance motive, resulting in inefficiencies across industries. Companies are forced to focus on ticking ESG boxes rather than delivering value to shareholders or customers. The result is a less dynamic and innovative economy.
3. Western Competitiveness Undermined:
   While ESG compliance increases costs for Western companies, emerging markets, free from these constraints, become the new hubs of manufacturing and economic growth. This puts the West at a severe disadvantage, exacerbating trade imbalances and eroding industrial bases.
4. Energy Precarity:
   The rush to green energy has left the West dangerously exposed. Solar and wind power are intermittent and currently lack the storage solutions needed for reliability. Meanwhile, traditional energy sources are demonised and phased out, leaving energy grids vulnerable to blackouts and price spikes. This precarious energy landscape compromises national security and economic stability.

Who Wins? Big Finance and the WEF

For the Big Three and the WEF, ESG is a win-win. They control the flow of capital into the green transition, profiting handsomely from government-backed guarantees and the endless need for funding. At the same time, they maintain lucrative stakes in emerging markets that bypass ESG altogether, ensuring their profits are not constrained by the rules they impose on others.

Who Loses? The West and Its People

For Western nations, ESG is a raw deal. It imposes higher costs, reduces competitiveness, and jeopardises energy security, all while enriching the financial elite. The promises of a sustainable future ring hollow when they come at the expense of economic stability and individual prosperity.

Conclusion: The Real Scam

ESG is not about saving the planet or building a fairer society. It’s a tool of control wielded by Big Finance and global elites to consolidate their power and profits. By imposing ESG scams on corporations, governments, and small businesses, they ensure a steady flow of capital into projects they dominate while exempting themselves from the rules they create. The West pays the price in higher costs, lower efficiency, and diminished global standing. It’s time to see ESG for what it is: a scam designed to benefit the few at the expense of the many.