From The Telegraph, May 11:
Fund titan says investing in traditional energy sources is now required to boost security
BlackRock has warned it will vote against most shareholder green activism this year for being too extreme, in a significant u-turn by the world’s biggest money manager.
The company said it was concerned about proposals to stop financing fossil fuel companies, including forcing them to decommission assets and setting absolute targets for reducing emissions in their supply chains.
It comes as BlackRock said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has impacted the transition to net-zero, adding that short-term investment in traditional energy sources is now required to boost security.
In a stewardship report, the asset manager said: “We do not consider [the proposals] to be consistent with our clients’ long-term financial interests.”
It added: “Many of the climate-related shareholder proposals coming to a vote in 2022 are more prescriptive or constraining on companies [than last year] and may not promote long-term shareholder value.”
Last week, Barclays also defied green activists with a pledge to invest in new oil and gas projects to help Europe wean itself off Russian fossil fuel.
Blackrock has ballooned to manage more than $10 trillion (£7.3 trillion) in assets, giving the company significant stakes and influence in many of the world’s largest corporations.
Its update represents a significant volte face for the asset manager which has been at the forefront of Wall Street’s push to encourage companies to shun fossil fuels and transition to greener alternatives.
In January 2020, chief executive Larry Fink, said “climate risk is investment risk” as he positioned BlackRock as a leader in ethical, social and governance (ESG) investing.
He also warned that climate change posed the biggest ever risk to financial markets.
Fink said: “Climate change is different. Even if only a fraction of the projected impacts is realised, this is a much more structural, long-term crisis. Companies, investors, and governments must prepare for a significant reallocation of capital.”
The decision to distance itself from “prescriptive” climate change policies comes as institutional investors face criticism for allegedly pushing political agendas.
On Thursday, Vivek Ramaswamy, a US health and technology entrepreneur, launched an “anti-woke” investment fund that will urge companies to focus on making money rather than championing political causes.....
....MUCH MORE
On a campaign stop ahead of German state elections Chancellor Scholz told a cheering crowd in Cologne: "We will not accept a dictated peace for Ukraine." which is a very odd thing for a non-belligerent to be saying.
In the U.S., Democrat House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (2nd only to Speaker Pelosi in the hierarchy) said "We're at war". "We need to produce energy".
An even odder thing for a non-belligerent to say.
