Free Enterprise Fund Plays Devil's Advocate on Global Warming

The Free Enterprise Action Fund announced Tuesday that it plans to push for further debate on global warming on fears that new “global warming regulations could devastate economic growth and jeopardize the earnings of companies in the fund’s diversified portfolio without having any discernible impact on global temperatures.”

The fund’s management said that some companies are “fueling global warming hysteria by supporting activist environmental organizations and lobbying for government regulations.”

While the United Nations and Hollywood celebrities take global warming on face value, the Free Enterprise Action Fund believes there aren’t necessarily adequate scientific facts. The fund believes that CEOs and corporate boards owe it to shareholders to examine the financial consequences of new regulations.

The fund has asked General Electric, for instance, one of its holdings, to explain at its upcoming general meeting on April 25 why it takes the position that global warming regulations are good for its business. The fund notes that GE is a leading manufacturer of incandescent light bulbs, which conservationists want replaced with fluorescent light bulbs. In addition, GE has invested in manufacturing plants fueled by coal, which conservationists would also like replaced.

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