Hoping Against Hope

BlackRock cannot talk about hope for the future without addressing climate in the same breath. 

Will 2022 be known as the year BlackRock lost its edge?

BlackRock cannot navigate the next critical decade of decarbonization by changing course as political winds shift. BlackRock needs to forge a new path that follows the science and the will of the majority of its investors.

NYC puts BlackRock Under Review

Last week, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander sent a letter to BlackRock raising his concerns that the firm is backtracking on its climate commitments.

Dodging Disclosure: How BlackRock’s SEC comments fall short of the full picture

Despite BlackRock’s position as a self-proclaimed ESG leader, the firm disappointingly submitted comments encouraging the SEC to implement weaker regulations.

The Relentless Campaign Against Climate Action & ESG Investing

BlackRock has been put at the center of a growing campaign against climate action and ESG investing.

BlackRock Undermines SEC Climate Risk Rule Proposal

We applaud BlackRock’s call for private companies to be required to disclose climate risk and approve of its agreement with the broad outlines of the SEC’s initiative. However, the asset manager’s proposed amendments would allow BlackRock and other Wall Street titans to continue concealing the enormous risks posed by their continued financing of fossil fuel industry expansion.

Will You Lead Or Be Led, BlackRock? New Race To Zero Criteria Raise the Bar

The Race to Zero campaign, a U.N.-backed initiative, released updated, strengthened criteria last week. BlackRock, as a signatory of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM), is a member of Race to Zero and therefore is directly affected by the updated criteria.

Larry Fink has said time and again — for example in his last two letters to CEOs — that the energy transition is already underway and the only question remaining is “will you lead or be led?” The updated Race to Zero criteria is the roadmap for that leadership and BlackRock can and should step up to lead.

BlackRock’s Big Backslide

BlackRock has established itself as an asset management firm that understands the inextricable links between climate change and fiduciary responsibility. Larry Fink famously said in his 2020 letter to CEOs: “We focus on sustainability not because we’re environmentalists, but because we are capitalists and fiduciaries to our clients.”

Two years on, BlackRock is backsliding from its leadership position as a far-sighted investor with its feet firmly planted in the reality that climate risk is economic risk by failing to meet the urgency of the moment.