BlackRock threatens backlash against firms who delay climate change action

This post was originally published on this site

https://i-invdn-com.akamaized.net/trkd-images/LYNXMPEG0D0K8_L.jpg

LONDON (Reuters) – BlackRock (N:) Chief Executive Larry Fink has warned company boards to step up efforts to tackle climate change or face increased wrath from investors concerned about how unsustainable business practices might curb their future wealth.

In his annual letter to CEOs, Fink said his firm believed sustainable investing was the “strongest foundation” for client portfolios and a “significant reallocation of capital” was likely in the near future as investors moved to protect their returns.

He said BlackRock would exit investments that presented high sustainability related risk, including thermal coal producers, as it participated in what he described as a “fundamental reshaping of finance”.

The world’s largest investment manager is also strengthening its commitment to transparency in its stewardship activities, with portfolio managers “increasingly disposed to vote against management” if they felt companies were not making “sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures”.

“We don’t yet know which predictions about climate change will be most accurate nor what effects we have failed to consider. But there is no denying the direction we are heading,” the veteran investor said in the letter.

“Every government, company and shareholder must confront climate change.”

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.