Something you might have missed in our 2025 Statehouse Report: Fossil fuel lobbyists now work hand in hand with right-wing extremists to force businesses to work with risky industries using controversial “debanking” bills. Let’s unpack that 💼

Anti-ESG is still here, and anti-climate legislators are eager to undermine the clean energy transition that’s well underway — jobs, profits, and free markets be damned. Protecting fossil fuels has always been the goal of anti-ESG legislation.

Our 2025 Statehouse Report is here, mapping how "anti-ESG" forces have escalated attacks on climate risk management under a fossil fuel-friendly administration. From the 106 bills introduced, it’s clear these grps are throwing their full weight behind protecting fossil fuels.

📣Proud to announce the release of Pleiades Strategy’s 2025 Statehouse Report recapping the 106 "anti-ESG" bills introduced and 10 passed in state legislatures this year. The takeaway: Anti-ESG actors are emboldened and evolving, chilling the climate action landscape 🧵

🏛️With just weeks left in state legislative sessions, 103 anti-ESG bills are still moving in 31 states. Only 5 have become law. Here are the major themes we’re tracking:

🚨 Trump’s new executive order calls for a coast-to-coast mining spree on U.S. public lands. His goal? Extract “critical” minerals for tech and energy—no matter the cost to our public lands or our communities.

🚩Georgia Power’s new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is raising red flags. It expands fossil fuel production, and doesn’t explain how to get the 9.5 GW in new capacity it calls for.

Trump’s DOJ is suing New York, Vermont, Michigan and Hawaii for daring to pass climate accountability laws. It’s a direct attack on states protecting their residents from climate risk. And a gift to fossil fuel companies.

The Bank of England is raising the bar on climate risk oversight, requiring banks and insurers to set clear risk metrics and prove they’re prepared for worsening climate shocks. This is what real climate leadership looks like.

⚡🏠The key to a safer, faster rebuild in L.A.? Electrification. A new report from UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy & the Environment @cleeberkeley undercuts claims from officials waiving all-electric rules, finding that going all-electric isn’t just safer, it's faster and cheaper too.

Skyrocketing home insurance premiums and cancellations are turning climate risk into an insurance emergency, everywhere. A new tool from @RevolvingDoorDC & @Public_Citizen maps the crisis by ZIP code, showing just how widespread the damage really is.

📣NYC Comptroller Brad Lander is putting Wall Street on notice, again. He’s demanding asset managers handling the city’s $284B in pension funds submit net-zero transition plans (scope 3 inclusive), or risk losing their business. Plans are due by the end of June.⌛

A new Dartmouth study found that just *21 fossil fuel companies* are responsible for $28 trillion in global heat-related economic losses – and that doesn’t even include extreme weather or climate disasters. 🔥 🌎

🫢Elon Musk’s xAI data center in Memphis has quietly become the region’s biggest polluter with its 30+ methane gas turbines operating *without permits* to power its supercomputer.

The war on disaster victims continues. The Trump administration's rejection of federal disaster aid for Arkansas, where deadly storms killed at least 60, is a further step toward politicizing climate disaster response.

💸New meta-analysis from @EnergyInnov found that repealing clean energy tax credits could raise household energy bills by $6B annually within 5 years and up to $25B annually by 2040. A setback for clean energy is a setback for consumers.

A historic win for the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU): their new contract includes groundbreaking climate provisions, from solar panels at 30 schools to cleaner air and water for students. Labor + climate = real impact. ✊

🔋Federal uncertainty is stalling a $1.3B battery plant in Virginia. Microporous was set to bring over 2,000 jobs to Pittsylvania County, but it's now delayed as Trump’s DOE targets clean energy projects for grant clawbacks.

⚡A $5.8B bet on clean steel is coming to Louisiana. Hyundai Steel’s new plant will use Electric Arc Furnace tech that cuts emissions emissions up to 85% compared to coal-fired blast furnaces common in the U.S., in a monumental first for steel.

🤫 Green hushing is in. Equinor just started building Empire Wind 1, an 810 MW offshore wind project near NYC, with barely a whisper. No ribbon-cuttings, no press blitz. Just a quiet email to boat captains. And that’s strategic in today’s anti-wind political climate.

Clean energy isn’t the future—it’s already the present We just hit a major milestone: in March 2025, clean energy generated more than half of all U.S. electricity for the first time ever—50.8%, per new data from @Ember_energy.

NYC’s housing crisis is colliding with climate change. A new report says over 80,000 homes in the region could be lost to coastal flooding by 2040—just as the city needs to build 1.2 million new homes.

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander is turning up the 🔥on big banks. He’s filed shareholder proposals at Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley demanding they disclose how much they finance clean energy vs fossil fuels.

Trump’s new tariffs are a major blow to America’s clean energy future. They cut renewable developers off from key suppliers and hand China an even bigger share of solar and wind markets.

Pleiades convened a panel yesterday bringing together fire survivors, consumer advocates, and insurance policy experts. The national insurance crisis playing out in CA is serious, but there are steps we can take to protect people, our economy, and our climate 🌎

New York is finally moving on emissions reporting. Starting in 2027, large polluters emitting 10,000+ metric tons of CO2/year will have to report it—part of meeting the state’s climate law targets.

Hyundai’s new EV plant in Savannah is a clean energy success story—with 8,500 jobs and up to $500M in payroll by 2030, it’s reshaping the region’s economy.

Climate change isn’t just a future threat—it’s already hitting financial markets. A new Oxford Economics study shows companies with lower climate risk exposure outperformed those more exposed from 2014–2024.

Critical NOAA weather data could go dark. DOGE is canceling web hosting contracts, threatening to shut down lifesaving services used by scientists, agencies, and first responders worldwide.

Trump signed an executive order targeting state and city climate laws—directing the DOJ to challenge laws on carbon pricing, emissions, and environmental justice. It’s likely unconstitutional, but the fight is on.

Climate change is making home insurance way more expensive—and not just in the places you'd expect. A new report shows premiums are rising fast across the U.S., driven by extreme weather like hail, floods, and tornadoes. 🌪️🌧️🔥

📣 We’re hosting an event all about the insurance crisis playing out in CA and the U.S. this Thursday 4/24 for @SFClimateWeek! This will be a solutions-based conversation with experts and advocates, moderated by SF Chronicle reporter Megan Munce.

AI is hungry—and data centers are devouring electricity to feed it. ⚡💻 As demand surges, @sweep_org has a new idea: it’s time for data centers to pay their fair share.

Big Gas just said “no thanks” to $5 billion. Here’s the story: Four companies have dropped out of Texas’s Energy Fund loan program—meant to boost new fossil fuel projects. Why leave money on the table? Turns out, the future of natural gas isn’t looking so hot.

Not surprised, just disappointed. The SEC ditched its own climate risk disclosure rule after pressure from Big Oil and GOP AGs. It’s a win for polluters and bad news for everyone else.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is on a quiet mission to rewrite state laws to shield utilities from wildfire liability—even when their equipment sparks the flames. Wildfire victims are left holding the bag and paying the bill.

Energy prices are rising—but the real story? Regulators behind closed doors are setting rates with little oversight. And utilities are making sure it stays that way.

💰🤝💰 The Data Center Coalition spent $165K lobbying VA lawmakers—and it worked. Ambitious efforts to rein in energy-hungry data centers failed. The only bill that passed? A weak measure requiring some local approval.

💰🔥 ICYMI, the £28B People’s Pension ditched State Street over its failure to manage climate risk. Instead, they’re moving their money to firms that take sustainability seriously.

🔌⚡ Illinois is laying the groundwork for a cleaner, more reliable energy future. A new bill, the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (CRGA), would modernize the grid and add virtual power plants to get cheap renewables online faster.

Politicians can’t overrule the laws of physics—and the market has already spoken. Clean energy isn’t just the future, it’s the present.

Trump’s IRA clawbacks are already hitting low-income Alabamians hard. A funding freeze means higher energy bills—with 2,000 households facing $100 increases next month and the risk of power shutoffs.

After the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed Paradise, CA, the town rebuilt smarter—with fire-resistant homes meeting Wildfire Prepared Home Standards. The result? A more resilient community and lower insurance risks.

🌞 The first “Made in America” solar supply chain is up and running! U.S. companies are producing high-efficiency solar cells, a crucial step toward energy independence. But Trump’s attacks on the IRA are putting this progress at risk.

🔋 The fight for clean energy is heating up in state legislatures. Right-wing lawmakers in Oklahoma, Arizona, Texas, and more are pushing bills to restrict or ban renewable energy projects.

🚨 Trump’s administration is pushing to eliminate crucial Pentagon climate resilience programs. Sec. Hegseth is calling for the DOD to cut all “so-called ‘climate change’ and woke programs.” This will leave our nation at risk.

📊 New Mexico is a shining example of how state policy can drive clean energy success. In just 14 years, the share of their electricity from solar & wind jumped from 6% to 64%! 🌞🍃♻️

While Trump undermines clean energy programs, states like CA, NY, NM, ME, and DC are helping families get up to $22,000 in rebates to upgrade their homes and lower energy bills. 🏠💵

Texas is crushing it in solar and battery buildouts — leading the nation. So what’s the legislature doing? Passing a bill to sideline renewables and force half of all new energy construction to come from gas.

Trump promised to slash energy prices. Instead, he’s doing everything he can to raise them — from repealing the IRA to kneecapping wind & solar.