BlackRock Fires Back About Climate Change

BlackRock Inc.  sent a letter to 19 state attorneys general saying climate change is a top concern for its clients and a key risk in financial decisions:  “Investors and companies that take a forward-looking position with respect to climate risk and its implications for the energy transition will generate better long-term financial outcomes,” Dalia Blass, BlackRock’s head of external affairs, said in a letter released Wednesday. “These opportunities cut across the political spectrum.”

BlackRock, led by Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, was responding to an Aug. 4 letter from 19 attorneys general alleging that the firm’s “climate agenda” is at odds with the goal of generating returns for state pension plans.

Blass also said: “Given our commitment to those saving for retirement, we are disturbed by the emerging trend of political initiatives that sacrifice pension plans’ access to high-quality investments — and thereby jeopardize pensioners’ financial returns…..”