You know Your Survival Guy is concerned by BlackRock’s ESG push. It’s not great when you invest, and they win, using the voting power you bought with your money to push their agenda. Now GOP Attorneys General from 17 states are pushing back against BlackRock’s ability to influence policies at utility companies. Eric Revell reports on Fox Business:
A group of Republican attorneys general filed a motion Wednesday with a federal regulator to block BlackRock from imposing its environmental, social and governmental (ESG) policies on utility companies.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is a signatory to the Climate Action 100+ and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiatives that seek to use the shareholder voting power of members to influence how utilities operate by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting emissions linked to climate change. The climate targets of those initiatives would force fossil fuel use to be cut from 61% in 2020 to 25% by 2030 and to 2% by 2050.
Seventeen Republican state attorneys general filed a motion with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to dispute whether BlackRock should have a blanket authorization to buy more than $10 million voting stakes in utility companies without ensuring the asset manager refrains from requiring those energy providers to abide by ESG priorities. FERC is required to periodically review and approve or deny such blanket authorization applications for under the Federal Power Act.
“This is yet another example of radical leftists trying to circumvent the will of the American people in order to implement their draconian mandates,” said Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita. “The restrictions these elitists are trying to impose on energy companies and utilities would never win approval at the ballot box.”
A group of Republican state attorneys general are asking a federal energy regulator to block BlackRock from using its financial clout to push an ESG agenda on utility companies. (Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The public interest is served when investment companies build their business models on maximizing financial returns for clients,” Rokita added. “Conversely, the public interest is hijacked when these companies subjugate clients’ financial interests to leftist fever dreams.”
BlackRock has defended its participation in the ESG movement, which seeks to leverage financial markets to promote a green energy transition to counter climate change at the expense of companies that utilize fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas.
Firms participating in ESG activism use the voting power of the shares they hold in various energy and utility companies to influence their actions to align with the movement’s goals – which critics say violates their fiduciary responsibility to maximize returns for shareholders.
Action Line: You want to work with a fiduciary who puts your interests ahead of any agenda. When you’re ready to talk to a fiduciary, I’m here.
