Investors Don’t Think That Climate Change Is A Hoax: BlackRock Is Losing Its Patience

This post, written by Seth Jaffe, a Partner in firm’s Environmental practice, was originally posted on the firm’s Law and the Environment blog.

BlackRock, which manages more than $5 trillion in assets, has released a statement on how it “engages with climate risk.”  The statement has three main elements.  

  • Support for the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures
  • Engagement with companies over assessment on climate risks
  • An indication of potential support for shareholder resolutions on climate risk, where such resolutions “address a gap in investment-decision and stewardship”, and “management’s response to our prior engagement has been inadequate.”

The statement emphasizes BlackRock’s long-term approach to investing, which is the source of the best line in the statement.  In summarizing letters from BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, to CEOs, BlackRock notes that:

While we are patient investors, we are not infinitely patient.

I’m picturing James Earl Jones as Darth Vader saying that.  I wonder what energy executives are hearing.

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