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Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · United States · 2021–2022

Study estimates Texas anti-ESG bank rules added to municipal borrowing costs

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 self-reported only · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

Texas laws that took effect in September 2021 barred banks that restrict fossil fuel and firearms industries from underwriting municipal bonds. A study by Garrett and Ivanov estimated extra interest of 303 to 532 million dollars, which industry-aligned authors dispute.

What?
Texas barred banks that restrict fossil fuel and firearms industries from underwriting municipal bonds from September 2021. Knowledge at Wharton
Where?
Texas Knowledge at Wharton
When?
Laws effective September 2021; the cost estimate covers the first eight months Knowledge at Wharton
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
  • Texas municipalities — estimated 303 to 532 million dollars in extra interest on bonds issued in the first eight months (Garrett and Ivanov estimate) Knowledge at Wharton
Harmed
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The laws barred underwriting by banks that restrict fossil fuel and firearms industries; five banks holding about 35% of the market withdrew. Knowledge at Wharton
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Texas laws that took effect in September 2021 barred banks that restrict fossil fuel and firearms industries from underwriting municipal bonds (Knowledge at Wharton, 12 July 2022).

Garrett and Ivanov estimated that five banks holding about 35% of the market withdrew, and that municipalities would pay 303 to 532 million dollars in extra interest on 32 billion dollars of bonds issued in the first eight months.

Industry-aligned authors dispute this calculation (Knowledge at Wharton, 12 July 2022).

Texas's 2021 law SB 13 was held unconstitutional on 4 February 2026 and the ruling is under appeal, according to the sources reviewed.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: the same 303 to 532 million dollar estimate is also attributed to a Responsible Investor article, which was marked as recalled rather than checked.
    • Self-reported only The sources reviewed do not give the industry-aligned authors' own figures.
    • Disputed The claim that the model text behind SB 13 came from ALEC is disputed.
    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state the grounds for the 2026 ruling on SB 13 or the status of the appeal.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    1. Texas fought against ESG: here's what it cost
      Knowledge at Wharton · 2022-07-12

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Carbon and conservation finance

    ESG
    Environmental, social and governance criteria that investors and insurers use to screen companies and projects.

    Insurance

    Underwriter
    An insurer, or a person at an insurer, who assesses a risk and decides whether and on what terms to insure it.
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