Texas Joins West Virginia In Boycotting BlackRock Over ‘Decarbonization’ Push
Typically, letters to investors don’t elicit this kind of backlash. But given BlackRock’s outsize influence on the US (and the global) economy, perhaps it’s not surprising that a handful of US states with thriving energy industries are expressing their frustration with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink and his latest essay about the importance of “stakeholder capitalism”.
As we reported yesterday, West Virginia’s state treasurer has announced that the state would end use of BlackRock funds for all state investments in retaliation for the firm’s antagonistic stance toward the oil and gas industry.
Now, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick has joined the fray, issuing a letter of his own late Wednesday urging his own state’s comptroller, Glenn Hegar, to place BlackRock on a list of companies that have cut ties with the Texas oil and gas industry.
“If Wall Street turns their back on Texas and our thriving oil and gas industry, then Texas will not do business with Wall Street,” Patrick wrote.
Unlike his previous letter to investors from 2021, when Fink announced BlackRock’s commitment to achieving “net zero” emissions while pressuring energy companies to make climate protection more of a priority, Fink said in his latest letter that companies must balance the interests of many different stakeholders. In a sense, Fink was walking back BlackRock’s hostile stance toward fossil fuel companies.- READ MORE
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