Commentary
The new global environmental, social and governance (ESG) accounting standard that is about to be implemented in Canada may well prove fatal to all but the biggest of businesses. According to Tammy Nemeth, the new carbon emission standards and policies are designed to strangle the hydrocarbon industry by “disqualifying it from financing, insurance, and investment dollars.”
Green Priorities
Those funds that would typically be invested into the traditional energy firms will instead be diverted to financing “green industries,” particularly wind projects. In her recent analysis of the new global ESG accounting standard found in her report, “Counting Carbon Molecules,” Nemeth concludes that the new standards only make sense if viewed from a point of view that disregards economic viability and energy security.After my article “The Big Lie of Woke Capitalism,” Nemeth contacted me with this latest development from the World Economic Forum (WEF) crowd, and it’s alarming, to say the least. According to Nemeth, this new standard has been drafted by the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS) and is to be imposed upon Canada by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
The supposed purpose of the new global baseline for sustainability and climate-related disclosure is to fight “greenwashing.” In other words, its stated purpose is to stop businesses from cheating on their carbon footprint report. But it’s more likely to destroy most of them in the process of trying to comply with the stringent and complicated rules.
Sustainable Accounting or Business Killer?
Supporters of the new standards claim that the new ESG policies will bring sustainability into all accounting. Furthermore, every company will have to comply with it because it will be part of the financials that will be required by banks, insurers, and investors. As a result, the effects of this Draconian new legislation will be felt throughout the entire economy.As incredible and illogical as it all sounds, the costs of complying with the mandatory financial ESG standards may very well drive small and medium-sized businesses into insolvency. What’s more, it promotes the extensive tracking of individual consumer behavior.
Overriding National Sovereignty
Perhaps not so surprising, the new standards are being embraced by the Big Four accounting firms, with the goal of creating a single metric by which consumers, investors, insurers, bondholders, lenders, and others can compare entities and hold them accountable for their carbon-behavior.Worst of all, the proposed standards are purported to be in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and are legally enforceable. Presumably, that would mean that the new ESG standards would supersede national sovereignty.
Impossible Standards Usher in Stakeholder Capitalism
The four core aspects of this new disclosure standard are:- Governance
- Strategy
- Risk management
- Metrics and targets
For one, the whole scheme is based on the principles of stakeholder capitalism, which is another name for fascism or state capitalism. The standards change companies’ focus to ESG compliance and the broader social good from building shareholder value.
For another, from an implementation perspective, the wording in the new standards is vague, allowing for broad interpretations and an expansive reach of enforcement authority.
Regarding emissions, there are also serious problems with mandating scenario analysis such as its evolving applicability to climate, as well as cost. Emissions reporting is notoriously difficult to quantify across the entire supply chain. Missing even a single third party’s data, which is impossible to know accurately, could result in a violation.
On the flip side, duplication in accounting also is a violation, which most certainly will occur. The same emission data could be counted several times over in different analytical contexts and thus, doesn’t convey an accurate representation of climate risk.
As Nemeth points out, this standard doesn’t just promote net-zero, it codifies absolute zero. This ultimate goal comports with the WEF’s green energy agenda. It also drastically weakens the leading economies of the developed world, such as the United States and Canada.
The Long Reach of the IFRS
Once the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard becomes enforceable, the finances and operations of hydrocarbon companies, and any industry that utilizes hydrocarbons, may well be seriously compromised to the point of extinction. In short, any industries that manufacture any kind of product or produce, handle, or utilize hydrocarbons in any way, will be targeted and likely penalized for non-compliance to an impossible standard.But the reach of the new ESG accounting standards goes even further, according to Nemeth. The mandate—and enforcement—will apply to every company, consumer, and individual on the planet.
Like the new vaccines that reprogram the human body to produce spike proteins that can actually kill the recipient, the new ESG accounting standard will essentially reprogram our entire carbon energy-based economy, with potentially similar results.
Time Running Out
The deadline for submitting feedback on drafts of the new standard is July 29, meaning that Canada has all but run out of time to protest the imposition of this new global ESG standard on its companies and economy. And there’s been only a small number of comments critiquing the proposal.Canadian companies must stand up and make their voices heard while they still can.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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