The world’s largest fund manager has warned companies in its $7 trillion portfolio that it will start offloading investments it considers to be a climate change risk, including thermal coal.
BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink wrote to bosses of many of the world’s largest corporations to tell them that the climate crisis is about to trigger a “fundamental reshaping of finance”.
Mr Fink, who has faced criticism for a perceived failure to act on climate change, said rising global temperatures were altering the long-term prospects of companies.
“In the near future – and sooner than most anticipate – there will be a significant reallocation of capital,” he wrote.
BlackRock also acknowledged that investing sustainably has the potential to offer better returns to investors.
1/8 Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands ‘practical solutions’ to combat climate change
Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that “what we do now…will profoundly affect the next few thousand years”.
On the eve of this year’s World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should “get on with the practical solutions” needed to prevent environmental damage.
“As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we’ve not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires.
“We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan,” he said.
The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to “exceptional cultural leaders”.
AFP/Getty
2/8 At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease
Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the world’s coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change.
The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival.
These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods.
As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains
Alan Schaller
3/8 Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting
The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown.
More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found.
The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate.
It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year.
Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows
Nasa/Getty
4/8 Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry
Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry.
All of the region’s 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a “presumption” against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced.
Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country.
Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UK’s only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors.
But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites
Ross Wills
5/8 Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year
Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters.
However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japan’s territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts.
This means controversial “scientific” trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019
AP
6/8 COP24: Environmental groups criticise ‘morally unacceptable’ climate deal reached after major Poland summit
Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland.
But climate campaigners warned the deal – effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord – agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action.
Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying “important progress” had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared.
But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries.
The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran
Reuters
7/8 ‘Unprecedented changes’ needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying
Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded.
Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately.
Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster
AFP/Getty
8/8 Africa’s three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments
DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africa’s elephant poaching epidemic.
Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins.
Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo.
Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continent’s most prolific smugglers
Art Wolfe
1/8 Davos 2019: David Attenborough issues stark warning about future of civilisation as he demands ‘practical solutions’ to combat climate change
Sir David Attenborough has issued a stark warning about climate change to business figures gathered in Davos, telling them that “what we do now…will profoundly affect the next few thousand years”.
On the eve of this year’s World Economic Forum, the renowned naturalist told the audience that the worlds of business and politics should “get on with the practical solutions” needed to prevent environmental damage.
“As a species we are expert problem solvers. But we’ve not yet applied ourselves to this problem with the focus it requires.
“We can create a world with clean air and water, unlimited energy, and fish stocks that will sustain us well into the future. But to do that, we need a plan,” he said.
The broadcaster made his speech after receiving a Crystal Award, which is awarded by the forum to “exceptional cultural leaders”.
AFP/Getty
2/8 At least 60% of wild coffee species face extinction triggered by climate change and disease
Two decades of research have revealed that 60 per cent of the world’s coffee species face extinction due to the combined threats of deforestation, disease and climate change.
The wild strain of arabica, the most widely consumed coffee on the planet, is among those now recognised as endangered, raising concerns about its long-term survival.
These results are worrying for the millions of farmers around the world who depend on the continued survival of coffee for their livelihoods.
As conditions for coffee farming become tougher, scientists predict the industry will need to rely on wild varieties to develop more resilient strains
Alan Schaller
3/8 Warming Antarctic waters are speeding the rate at which glaciers are melting
The Antarctic ice sheet is losing six times as much ice each year as it was in the 1980s and the pace is accelerating, one of the most comprehensive studies of climate change effects on the continent has shown.
More than half an inch has been added to global sea levels since 1979, but if current trends continue it will be responsible for metres more in future, the Nasa-funded study found.
The international effort used aerial photos, satellite data and climate models dating back to the 1970s across18 Antarctic regions to get the most complete picture to date on the impacts of the changing climate.
It found that between 1979 and 1990 Antarctica lost an average of 40 gigatonnes (40 billion tonnes) of its mass each year.
Between 2009 and 2017 it lost an average 252 gigatonnes a year. This has added 3.6mm per decade to sea levels, or around 14mm since 1979, the study shows
Nasa/Getty
4/8 Greater Manchester to ban fracking, paving way for confrontation with government over controversial industry
Greater Manchester is to effectively ban fracking, raising the prospect of fresh confrontation with the government over the controversial industry.
All of the region’s 10 councils are to implement planning policies which create a “presumption” against drilling for shale gas in their areas, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has announced.
Campaigners said the move was the latest sign that the tide was turning against fracking, which has been the subject of multiple legal battles across the country.
Critics of fracking say it poses environmental and health risks. Drilling at the UK’s only operational fracking site, run by Cuadrilla in Lancashire, has repeatedly been halted due to earth tremors.
But ministers support the industry and last year unveiled plans to accelerate the development of new drilling sites
Ross Wills
5/8 Japan confirms plan to resume commercial whaling in its waters from next year
Japan will resume commercial whaling next year for the first time in more than three decades, in a move that has provoked strong criticism from campaigners and the international community.
Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said his nation would leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to resume hunting the marine mammals in Japanese waters.
However, he stated the activity would be limited to Japan’s territory and the 200 mile exclusive economic zone along its coasts.
This means controversial “scientific” trips to Antarctica in which Japanese vessels killed hundreds of whales, as well as activity in the northwest Pacific, will stop in 2019
AP
6/8 COP24: Environmental groups criticise ‘morally unacceptable’ climate deal reached after major Poland summit
Diplomats from around the world have agreed a major climate deal after two weeks of United Nations talks in Poland.
But climate campaigners warned the deal – effectively a set of rules for how to govern the 2015 Paris climate accord – agreed between almost 200 countries lacked ambition or a clear promise of enhanced climate action.
Activists cautiously welcomed elements of the plan, saying “important progress” had been made on ensuring that efforts to tackle climate change by individual nations can be measured and compared.
But environmental groups were also highly critical of the agreement, warning it lacked ambition and clarity on key issues, including financing for climate projects for developing countries.
The COP24 deal, which is aimed at providing firm guidelines for countries on how to transparently report their greenhouse gas emissions and their efforts to reduce them, was confirmed on 15 December, after talks overran
Reuters
7/8 ‘Unprecedented changes’ needed to stop global warming as UN report reveals islands starting to vanish and coral reefs dying
Greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert global environmental catastrophe, including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities, a landmark UN report has concluded.
Drawing on more than 6,000 scientific studies and compiled over two years, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) findings, released this morning, warn enormous and rapid changes to the way everyone on Earth eats, travels and produces energy need to be brought in immediately.
Though the scientists behind the report said there is cause for optimism, they recognised the grim reality that nations are currently nowhere near on track to avert disaster
AFP/Getty
8/8 Africa’s three biggest elephant poaching cartels exposed using DNA from illegal ivory shipments
DNA taken from massive shipments of ivory has been used to identify the three largest wildlife trafficking gangs operating at the height of Africa’s elephant poaching epidemic.
Ivory tends to be shipped around the world from African ports in bulk, and scientists have used genetic evidence gleaned from intercepted batches to reveal their origins.
Led by Dr Samuel Wasser from the University of Washington, they traced a number of these shipments to three cartels operating out of Kenya, Uganda and Togo.
Evidence collected by Dr Wasser has already helped convict ivory kingpin Feisal Mohamed Ali, and as his team joins the dots between shipments they plan to shore up the cases against more of the continent’s most prolific smugglers
Art Wolfe
“We believe that sustainability should be our new standard for investing,” the company wrote in a separate letter to clients.
The company said it would begin exiting industries that are most at risk as the world shifts to a low-carbon future, including thermal coal.
BlackRock’s stance will pile pressure on other asset managers to reassess their own approaches to climate risks.
It is perhaps the clearest indication that asset managers, as custodians of a significant chunk of the world’s wealth, have recognised the key role they could play in tackling the climate crisis.
But campaigners remained sceptical about BlackRock’s commitment to protecting the planet, preferring to wait for actions rather than words.
BlackRock remains one of the world’s largest backers of fossil fuel companies and has consistently voted against shareholder resolutions designed to push company boards to limit their impact on the climate.
That has frustrated campaigners who see BlackRock as a key potential influencer of corporate policies.
The new approach applies only to BlackRock’s $1.8 trillion of actively managed assets. The remaining $5 trillion of its funds are passive, meaning it simply allocates clients’ money to a basket of stocks and bonds weighted in such a way as to track indexes such as the FTSE 100, for example.
Because oil and gas companies account for a significant slice of major stock markets, BlackRock will remain heavily invested in them unless it makes further policy changes.
Jeanne Martin, campaign manager at ShareAction said: “Larry Fink talks a lot about companies’ purpose, but there are questions left unanswered about what BlackRock’s own purpose is, and how its stewardship delivers the social, environmental, and financial performance that its clients are looking for.
“While we welcome its commitment to improve transparency of its stewardship activities, for far too long the asset manager has kept everyone in the dark about the companies it was meeting with, the topics discussed, and most importantly the outcome of those engagements.
“But we might not like what we see when we open the door on these activities: BlackRock’s current voting disclosures on climate issues give little comfort that it will vote in a manner fitting of the climate crisis.”
Ms Martin added: “BlackRock’s coal divestment decision is yet another significant blow to the already dying market.”
The ShareAction charity is calling on the fund manager to go further by using its voting rights to pressure banks to stop financing coal.
BlackRock’s announcement comes a day after almost all of Britain’s top universities committed to selling their shares in fossil fuel companies after pressure from eco-conscious students who have occupied buildings and carried out hunger strikes.
Charlie Kronick, climate finance campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “BlackRock’s announcement this morning is an acknowledgement of the culpability of the financial sector for the climate emergency, their responsibility to fix it, and the impossibility of carrying on business as usual now that the world is awake to the crisis we have created.
“Barclays Bank and other UK institutions financing fossil fuel expansion need to step up and do the same, and do it quickly, if they want to avoid becoming the target of unprecedented pressure from activists and investors to end their ongoing funding of the climate emergency.”
