Attorney General James Uthmeier has initiated an investigation into the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to determine if their practices violate Florida’s consumer protection or antitrust laws. The probe focuses on whether these organizations coerced companies into sharing proprietary data and paying for access under claims of promoting environmental transparency.
“Radical climate activists have hijacked corporate governance and weaponized it against the free market,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “Florida will not sit back while international pressure groups shake down American companies to fund their ESG grift. We’re using every tool of the law to stop the Climate Cartel from exploiting businesses and misleading consumers.”
The CDP, which was established by British environmental, social, and governance (ESG) advocates, operates a global environmental disclosure system. It charges companies fees to report, revise, and publicize their data, while also selling services that can improve company scores or provide favorable statements from CDP executives for a fee. This scoring process is connected to corporate access to capital, with major investment firms such as Bloomberg, ISS, S&P Global, and Santander reportedly utilizing CDP data in financial decision-making.
The SBTi was co-founded by CDP along with the United Nations Global Compact. It offers validation of companies’ climate goals for a fee and then directs those companies back to CDP for progress reporting. This arrangement creates what appears to be a profit-driven feedback loop between the two organizations.
Uthmeier’s office will investigate potential deceptive trade practices including selling services for improved scores or endorsements; creating incentives for corporations to pay in exchange for favorable treatment; and misrepresenting the objectivity of environmental data relied upon by investors and consumers.
The inquiry will also consider possible antitrust violations such as whether coordination among CDP, financial institutions, and investment services amounts to unlawful market manipulation or if efforts by CDP to pressure non-participating companies result in anticompetitive effects.
Florida officials say they remain committed to defending free enterprise and protecting consumers from what they describe as fraudulent ESG schemes presented as scientific initiatives.
