BlackRock, the world’s biggest investor, has lost an estimated $90bn over the last decade by ignoring the serious financial risk of investing in fossil fuel companies, according to economists.A report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has found that BlackRock has eroded the value of its $6.5tn funds by betting on…
Tag: climate change
Building a Climate Change Voting Policy
The high percentage of withdrawn proposals in the U.S. signifies a positive development for climate change risk-aware investors, as companies appear more willing to engage and disclose information that satisfies the original proponents. That said, proposal filings and the agreements that lead to proposal withdrawals reflect the specific views and requests of the filer. For…
Investors discuss future of ESG engagement at Sustainable Finance Forum | IR Magazine
A large UK pension manager gave a frank and detailed description of engagement with oil and gas companies, relating to enhanced disclosure and increased action on climate initiatives, particularly the 2C degree scenario. He emphasized the need for more ‘credible’ institutional leaders to ‘step up’ regarding climate issues, and suggested that the media could be…
Major automakers strike climate deal with California, rebuffing Trump on proposed mileage freeze – The Washington Post
What is most interesting about this story is the questions it raises: If it wasn’t the auto industry pushing for the regulatory rollback, when who was it? If they pushed for it, why did they cooperate with this? Four automakers from three continents have struck a deal with California to produce fleets that are more…
Corporate climate ignorance poses threat to pensions | Minerva-Manifest
Nearly half of major companies in the highest polluting sectors worldwide are failing to weigh up how climate change will affect their businesses. The findings come from the State of the Transition report compiled by the Transition Pathway Initiative, an organisation backed by asset owners and fund managers, representing some US $14 trillion in assets.It…
Climate activists find warmer reception at shareholder meetings – Reuters
Climate activists found companies more receptive to steps like cutting emissions or buying clean power this year, a new tally of shareholder resolutions shows, a trend proponents said undercuts the case for proxy rule changes sought by business groups. Of the 145 climate-related proposals filed for this year’s springtime annual meeting season, 39 percent led…
Financial Services Committee Hearing on Sustainability and Competitiveness
The Congressional Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets held a hearing on”Building a Sustainable and Competitive Economy: An Examination of Proposals to Improve Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosures.” Note at 55:45 Representative Vargas asks former SEC Commissioner Paul Atkins if he believes climate change is real and Atkins dissembles, despite the fact that…
Investors with $34 trillion demand urgent climate change action – Reuters
Investors managing more than $34 trillion in assets, nearly half the world’s invested capital, are demanding urgent action from governments on climate change, piling pressure on leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies meeting this week.In an open letter to the “governments of the world” seen by Reuters, groups representing 477 investors stressed “the urgency…
Nell Minow on ERISA, the Trump Executive Order, and ESG
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow writes on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation about the Labor Department’s review of ERISA fiduciaries and ESG under the Executive Order issued last month by President Trump. She wrote: ERISA, the 1974 law that governs pension funds, recognizes that the third parties who manage…
Dr Raj Thamotheram Calls on Investors to Take the Lead on Climate Change
Dr Raj Thamotheram compares the essential urgency of investor engagement on climate change to the first major social movement, the campaign to abolish slavery. And he says the crucial moment this proxy season is the ExxonMobil annual meeting. So why is ExxonMobil set to be the litmus test for climate aware investors in 2019? ●…
