How BlackRock and Vanguard Gave a Big Middle Finger to Climate Action While Backing the Oil Giant’s Eco-Villainy
In the latest episode of “Let’s Pretend We Care About the Planet,” the world’s two largest money managers have decided that climate change just isn’t that big of a deal—at least not “financially material.” That’s right, folks. These titans of finance, sitting on a mountain of $10 trillion and $9 trillion respectively, have basically told the world to shove it when it comes to supporting climate resolutions.
BlackRock, that beacon of corporate responsibility, supported a whopping 20 out of 493 climate proposals this year. For those keeping score, that’s less than 4%—a steep drop from the days when they could at least pretend to care, like in 2021 when they backed nearly half of all climate resolutions. But hey, why bother saving the planet when you can continue raking in cash from sin stocks like Shell? And Vanguard? Oh, they took it up a notch by supporting exactly zero, zilch, nada, out of over 400 environmental and social proposals. Guess the idea of saving the world isn’t “financially material” enough for them either.
Both of these financial powerhouses had the nerve to say that the climate proposals were “overly prescriptive” or “not financially material.” Translation: “Sorry, planet, but you’re not profitable enough.” Vanguard even went so far as to call for greenhouse gas emission targets and third-party audits “overly prescriptive.” Because, of course, asking a company not to destroy the Earth is just too much to ask.
And let’s not forget the star of the show, Shell, the sin stock that just keeps on giving. During this year’s AGM season, when investors dared to suggest that Shell should align its emission reduction targets with the Paris Agreement, both BlackRock and Vanguard gave a resounding no. Instead, they threw their weight behind Shell’s so-called Energy Transition Strategy—a strategy that conveniently doesn’t foresee any significant emission reductions this decade. Because why rush to save the planet when there’s oil to be drilled and money to be made?
But don’t worry, folks. BlackRock assures us that Shell has “a clear assessment of its plans to manage material climate-related risks and opportunities.” Yep, nothing says “managing climate risks” like continuing to pump out oil like there’s no tomorrow. Literally.
In a world where even Exxon, that paragon of environmental responsibility, can get away with telling us that oil demand will stay strong until 2050, is it any wonder that BlackRock and Vanguard are taking the easy route? After all, who needs to protect shareholder value in the long term when you can keep cozying up to Big Oil?
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