Summarised by Centrist
Texas has announced the termination of its $8.5b investment with BlackRock, citing the firm’s alleged boycott of energy companies as the reason. The decision is in accordance with Texas law aimed at distancing the state from financial institutions engaging in anti-fossil fuel practices.
This move represents a significant blow to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement, which advocates for divesting from traditional energy industries.
BlackRock, managing over $10t in assets, defended its approach, stating it does invest in energy companies, but factors in ESG because it serves a wide range of clients’ objectives.
Meanwhile, a dozen US states are launching a probe into ESG banking regulations. Wliton Simpson, Florida’s agriculture commissioner, says ESG rules are an “existential threat” to agriculture. Small farms, which make up the backbone of farming in America, are unable to meet banking regulation ESG requirements.
“We all know oil is a national security issue. We have strategic supplies all over this country, right? What if there was no food in grocery stores for one week in this country? You’d have chaos and in thirty days you’d have people starving to death,” Simpson told Fox news.
