World’s biggest investor wants polluting industries to set targets to cut emissions and reach net zero
BlackRock, the world’s biggest investor, has said that oil companies and other polluting industries should disclose their carbon emissions and set targets to cut them, in the latest sign of the rapid reassessment of climate risks by asset managers.
All companies in which BlackRock invests will be expected to disclose direct emissions from operations and from energy they buy, known respectively as scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, the investment firm said in a letter outlining its plans.
Fossil fuel extractors should base targets to cut emissions on the carbon released when their products are burned, known as scope 3 emissions, BlackRock said.
BlackRock is one of the most influential investors in the world because of its vast actively managed and index-linked funds. The shares, bonds and other assets it controls were worth $8.7tn (£6.4tn) at the end of December, including holdings of billions of dollars in oil companies.
Most major listed oil companies have already announced plans to disclose their carbon emissions, and reduce them in line with the target to reach net zero carbon by 2050 set by many governments across the world.