Another day, another attempt by United States Republicans to contest environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in financial institutions.
This time, Republicans set their sights on BlackRock Inc’s ownership of utilities companies, stating that the firm is „an environmental activist”.
A group of 17 Republican U.S. state attorneys general asked federal energy regulators to review BlackRock’s ownership of utilities, citing the top fund manager’s involvement in industry efforts to limit climate change.
The motion before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was filed just days after rival Vanguard Group overcame a related challenge from some of the same politicians.
The efforts are part of a Republican campaign against the growing use of ESG considerations by investors and company executives. In their motion on Wednesday the attorneys general asked the four-member body known as FERC to audit whether BlackRock has complied with a 2022 order that gave it permission to own more than 10% of U.S. utility company shares.
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That waiver from antitrust limits was given because BlackRock functioned as a passive investor. But BlackRock has undercut that by joining groups like the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative seeking to influence utility company operations, the group claimed.
„Maybe BlackRock was a passive investor ten years ago, but today it’s an environmental activist,” states the motion led by officials including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita.
BlackRock and FERC representatives did not immediately comment. BlackRock, which runs some $9.1 trillion, has said it acts independently and that better ESG data from companies will help investors judge risks on matters like climate change.
Meanwhile, the pressure is piling up on Shell shareholders to support a climate activist resolution at its annual general meeting and vote against the oil major on most counts, Britain’s Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) said in a report seen by Reuters.
This follows announcements by the Church of England Pension Board, proxy adviser PIRC and a number of Dutch funds in favor of the climate resolution proposed by activist group Follow This.
Proposals on climate resolutions are not just limited to fossil fuel firms and financial institutions this annual general meeting season, as a trio of European asset managers has submitted a shareholder proposal urging Toyota Motor to improve disclosure of its lobbying on climate change.
It will be the first time that Toyota faces such a climate-related resolution at its annual general meeting, the funds said. Toyota’s board recommended that shareholders vote against the resolution, to be put to the company’s annual general meeting in June.
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- The Biden administration unveiled a sweeping plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s power industry, one of the biggest steps so far in its effort to decarbonize the American economy to fight climate change.
- Spain will ban some outdoor working during extreme heat conditions, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said, as the country faces high temperatures more frequently as a result of climate change.
- Wielding brooms and carrying cleaning supplies, a group of activists symbolically cleaned the facade of a branch of Swiss bank UBS in Zurich to protest against its fossil fuel investments.
- BNP Paribas, France’s largest lender, will no longer provide any financing dedicated to the development of new oil and gas fields, the bank said, as it reiterated its target of an 80% cut of its oil exploration financing by 2030.
- Breakingviews: Fighting opaque governance at Italy’s state-backed companies is proving a tough nut to crack. Attempts by rebel investor Covalis Capital to install its choice of directors on the board of 62 billion euro ($67 bln) green champion Enel failed to muster sufficient support from institutional shareholders.
