BlackRock har oplyst at de nu er tilsluttet Climate Action 100+, verdens største gruppe af investorer, der presser virksomhederne til at handle mod klimaforandringer.
”Vi mener, at beviserne for indvirkningen af klimarisiko på investeringsporteføljer udvikler sig hurtigt, og vi fremskynder vores engagement med virksomheder i dette kritiske spørgsmål,” sagde en talsperson for BlackRock.
Launched in 2017, Climate Action 100+ is a group of more than 370 institutional investors, including the money management arms of HSBC Holdings PLC and UBS Group AG , that now represents around $41 trillion in assets thanks to BlackRock’s membership, up from $35 trillion. The group has successfully pressured oil giants Royal Dutch Shell PLC and BP PLC to set targets to reduce emissions and disclose more data.
“BlackRock is responding to the demands of its asset owner clients and other groups globally that they take meaningful action to address climate change,” said Fiona Reynolds, member of the Climate Action 100+ Steering Committee and chief executive of the Principles for Responsible Investment.
At the PRI’s annual conference in Paris in September, some attendees expressed frustrations that BlackRock wasn’t teaming up with other investors to fight climate change.
“BlackRock is finally recognizing that its go-it-alone approach has been counterproductive,” said Eli Kasargod-Staub, executive director of Majority Action, another investor advocacy group, adding that the asset manager’s shareholder votes last year “undermined Climate Action 100+ efforts.”
The Wall Street Journal skriver, at “BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with around $7 trillion under management, has recently launched more funds for investors concerned about environmental and social issues. At the start of 2019, its CEO, Larry Fink, said it is crucial that companies not only seek profit but also make a good contribution to society.
The money manager forecasts that exchange-traded funds with an environmental, social and governance, or ESG, tilt will draw up to $400 billion by 2028, up from $25 billion in 2018. It manages more than $50 billion in dedicated ESG strategies, representing around 0.8% of its assets, according to its 2018 annual report.
Despite its efforts, BlackRock has come under criticism for assets invested in fossil fuels and how it engages with polluters. Ceres, a nonprofit that organizes investors on climate change, ranked BlackRock 43 of 48 among asset managers when it comes to backing climate-related shareholder resolutions at companies.
Last year, a report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis estimated that BlackRock has lost investors $90 billion over the past decade due to poor performing investments in fossil fuel companies.
At the time, a BlackRock spokesman called the findings “misplaced,” pointing to the fact that the money manager is a passive investing giant.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/blackrock-joins-worlds-largest-investor-group-on-climate-change-11578594349
