Texas has removed BlackRock from its list of oil and gas investment boycotters after the asset manager shrank its ESG footprint, ending a three-year quiet confrontation that saw Texas state investment vehicles pull billions out of BlackRock.
“I am pleased to announce a significant decline in the number of investment funds that boycott the oil and gas industry, as well as the removal of BlackRock Inc. from the Comptroller’s office list of companies that boycott energy companies,” Texas State Comptroller Glenn Hegar said in a statement.
“Directly related to our listing process, BlackRock has stepped back from full participation in the Climate Action 100+ and completely exited the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. It has dramatically reduced the number of fund offerings that prohibit investment in oil and gas, and it shifted away from blanket policies that ignore the critical need for fossil fuel-based energy generation now and long into the future,” Hager also said.
The saga began back in 2022, when Texas passed legislation forbidding state agencies from investing in any of a number of companies that, the state’s government said, boycotted the oil and gas industry. The black list of such companies included many Wall Street heavyweights eager to get a piece of the energy transition business.
BlacRock was among the most prominent entities featured on the list. The asset manager protested its inclusion in the list, saying it has investments in the oil and gas industry and no plans to quit these. The firm noted $120 billion in investments in Texas public energy companies, out of a total of $320 billion in energy investments globally. Nevertheless, the Texas Permanent School Fund withdrew some $8.5 billion in investments from the fund manager last year.
BlackRock, by the way, is not the only one quitting various net-zero alliances, at least in part as a result of the pressure campaign of conservative U.S. state governments against the anti-oil and gas shift, but also in response to constantly tightening reporting and emission-tracking requirements originating within these alliances.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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