A coalition of investment giants turned self-proclaimed climate campaigners appears to be in tatters as it ceased operations on Monday amid a backlash against “woke” capitalism.
The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative was rocked last week by the withdrawal of BlackRock, the world's largest investor, as The Post exclusively reported.
Larry Fink's firm, which manages about $11.5 trillion in assets, cited confusion over its net-zero climate efforts and legal scrutiny from public officials for the decision.
The move comes after months of mounting pressure from some Republican politicians over the coalition's stance on investing in fossil fuel companies, and comes as President-elect Donald Trump takes office. There were concerns that such pressure could increase further as preparations progressed.
As of last week, before BlackRock left, the group counted more than 325 signatories with more than $57.5 trillion in assets under management, according to its website.
In a letter to its members, the alliance thinly veiled accusations that Trump's victory in November's election left them with no choice.
The government blamed the decision to review its future on “recent developments in the United States.”
“As this initiative undergoes this review, we are suspending our efforts to track the implementation and reporting of signatories,” the letter obtained by the newspaper said.
The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative was launched in December 2020 and claimed to provide “the ambitious actions and investment strategies needed to achieve net zero emissions goals”.
Countries and businesses can aim to achieve so-called net zero by reducing or offsetting their carbon emissions. Achieving this goal by 2050 has been a long-standing goal of the United Nations.
The policy has been blamed for soaring prices in major European economies such as the UK, which are increasingly reliant on energy imports to meet demand.
But critics have denounced net zero as an “energy suicide pact.”
In November, Texas led 11 Republican states in filing a lawsuit against BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.
The states accused fund managers of “conspiring to artificially shrink” the coal market through anticompetitive practices.
They argued that these companies piled up huge stakes in coal producing companies and supported environmental initiatives that reduced coal production and drove up prices.
Last month, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee alleged that a “cartel” of financial companies and climate change activists are colluding to “impose radical ESG goals” on American companies.
The Republican campaign against environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals, including diversity and inclusion policies, gained momentum last year in opposition to the Biden-Harris administration.
When President Trump takes office next Monday, he is widely expected to launch a major deregulation of the energy sector, vowing to further exploit America's oil reserves and break through environmental bureaucracy.
