BlackRock Quits Net Zero Asset Managers Under Republican Pressure
BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is abandoning the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative after coming under pressure from Republican politicians over its support for woke climate policies. The Times has the story.
The New York-headquartered firm, which manages $11.5 trillion of assets, said it would leave the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Members of the group pledge to support the goal of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including by using their votes on behalf of shareholders at corporate meetings.
The group has more than 325 signatories managing more than $57.5 trillion, according to its website.
In a letter to clients, BlackRock said its membership of organisations like the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative had “caused confusion regarding BlackRock’s practices and subjected us to legal inquiries from various public officials”.
The asset manager said that two thirds of its global clients were committed to cutting emissions to Net Zero and that its departure “does not change the way we develop products and solutions for clients or how we manage their portfolios. BlackRock’s active portfolio managers continue to assess material climate-related risks, alongside other investment risks, in delivering for clients”.
Larry Fink, Chairman and Chief Executive of BlackRock, has embraced the principles of ESG, which stands for environmental, societal and governance considerations. However, in 2023 he said he had stopped using the phrase ESG because “it’s been unfortunately politicised and weaponised”. Republican politicians have labelled Net Zero efforts as “woke” and claim they violate antitrust laws.
In November, BlackRock, along with Wall Street asset managers Vanguard and State Street, were sued by a group of Republican-led states over allegations they had breached competition law by using their investments in coal companies to force them to cut production of the fossil fuel. BlackRock has denied wrongdoing and said the lawsuit “discourages investments in the companies consumers rely on”.
Worth reading in full.
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My hunch is that the primary driver for this decision by Black Rock, and the other banks, is to reduce their risk of shareholder lawsuits for their not properly exercising their legal fiduciary requirements.
Whatever the true reason (and no doubt it will be whatever is most financially beneficial for BR), the news is to be welcomed.
Indeed IMO all of these initiatives would potentially lead to corporate officers breaching their duty to shareholders.
CSR and DEI need to go the same way.
Hurrah! The Americans are coming! There does seem to be a bit of a sea change in motion, and not before time…. The Heartland Institute is an American conservative and libertarian non profit public policy think tank known for its rejection of….the scientific consensus on climate change On December 17, 2024, Heartland officially launched what may be the first of several satellite affiliate offices in the U.K., Heartland UK/Europe,…..headed by Lois Perry. Heartland is already having an effect on nut zero in Europe: ‘(Heartland President, James) Taylor….present(ed) information on March 13, 2024, at a special EU Parliament session on climate change, ESG, and proposed legislation that would require net zero EU carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Prior to the meeting, Vilimsky and Haider had informed Taylor that the net zero legislation had sufficient support to be approved, based on Hungary’s representatives indicating that country would support it. Taylor had met some of Hungary’s representatives at a previous event in Vienna, and he renewed acquaintances just before the March 13 special session. During the session, Taylor explained why there is no climate crisis according to the best available data, and he warned of the economic, political, and geopolitical suicide that net zero would bring. After the session, Taylor met informally… Read more »
It’s not very often I read one of your posts but this was a refreshing change. Time will tell.
Nine days until the Inauguration and counting.
Meta, Amazon and now Blackrock getting their ducks in a row.
Even the Commentariat is reporting it:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgmy7xpw3pyo
“Meta and Amazon axe diversity initiatives joining US corporate rollback.”
“BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, is abandoning the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative after coming under pressure from Republican politicians over its support for woke climate policies.”
Translation:
Blackrock have not been able to place the required funds in the respective bank accounts of their current detractors and until this anomaly is resolved they are backtacking slightly on their woke policies.
This has just delayed the net zero plans, until the next democrat government.
Alternate sub-head: Blackrock use Republican pressure as excuse to back off from supporting unworkable woke policies.
So Blackrock has sniffed the Trump wind …. and realised the Net Zero SCAM is collapsing.
Meanwhile, Two-Tier Keir is hiding in his No.10 bunker and is still allowing Red Ed to destroy the British economy and Rachel-from-Accounts to freeze 4000+ pensioners to death.
It is a sad reflection that the (apparently) biggest, brightest and best of people – I mean those who reach the highest highs of the business world and the public sector and NGOs etc – are such unprincipled cowards. So many questions remain about human nature and how societies run themselves. How can it be that we allow people like this to become the elite?
Obviously we need to redefine “biggest, brightest and best of people”. We also need to reduce the scale of everything.
PS I left out politicians in my list because there is no one in main stream politics that I can see who is anything but a robot following orders.