An alliance of investment giants-turned-self-styled climate change crusaders looks to be in tatters after it suspended its activities on Monday amid a backlash against “woke” capitalism.
The Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative was rocked last week by the exit of BlackRock, the world’s biggest investor, as The Post exclusively reported.
Larry Fink’s firm, which manages some $11.5 trillion in assets, cited confusion over Net Zero’s climate efforts and legal inquiries from public officials in making its decision.
The step followed months of escalating pressure from some Republican politicians over the coalition’s stance on investing in fossil fuel companies, with concern that such pressure could rise further as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
The group counted more than 325 signatories managing more than $57.5 trillion in assets as members, according to its website as of last week, before the departure of BlackRock.
In a letter to its members, the alliance made a thinly-veiled accusation that Trump’s November election victory had left it with no choice.
It blamed “recent developments in the US” for the decision to review its future.
“As the initiative undergoes this review, it is suspending activities to track signatory implementation and reporting,” the letter, seen by The Post, reads.
The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative was launched in December 2020 and claimed it would deliver “the ambitious action and investment strategies that will be necessary to achieve the goal of net zero emissions.”
Countries or companies can try and reach so-called net zero by slashing or offsetting carbon omissions. It is a long-standing UN goal to hit the target by 2050.
The policy has been blamed for higher prices in major European economies such as the United Kingdom, which is now more reliant on energy imports to meet its needs.
Critics, however, have slammed Net Zero as an “energy suicide pact.”
In November, Texas led a lawsuit of 11 Republican states against BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street.
The states accused the money managers of “conspiring to artificially constrict” the coal market with anti-competitive practices.
They alleged the firms built up huge stakes in coal producers and then supported environmental initiatives that lessened coal production to send prices skyward.
Last month, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee claimed “a cartel” of financial firms and climate activists were colluding to “impose radical ESG-goals” on US companies.
GOP campaigns against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, which include diversity and inclusion policies, gained steam last year in a backlash against the Biden-Harris administration.
It is widely expected that Trump will embark upon a mass deregulation of the energy sector, vowing to tap more of America’s oil reserves, and slash environmental red tape once he assumes office next Monday.
