Is ESG’s biggest proponent getting cold feet?

BlackRock’s new engagement priorities downplay ESG

Just two years ago, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink published a letter to CEOs so starry-eyed over the bright future of ESG and woke “stakeholder capitalism” as to be almost patronizing. American workers needn’t worry about their retirement funds or their future, Fink explained, so long as corporations agreed to sell out to their predetermined political narrative. Green energy, black squares, and rainbow flags seemed to be BlackRock’s top priority, and the rest of Wall Street quickly followed suit.

Times have changed.

With stubbornly persistent inflation causing financial hardship for most households, BlackRock has changed its tune. Climate initiatives have been significantly downplayed in BlackRock’s new materials in favor of more reassuring language about resilience and adapting to prevent future inflation. Make no mistake, BlackRock is still a prominent member of several organizations driving the ESG agenda, perhaps by another name, but driving it nonetheless. You may not have heard of the organizations themselves: Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, or Climate Action 100+. But you’re likely familiar with the globalist organizations that are pushing their anti-American agenda: the United Nations and the World Economic Forum (for which Larry Fink is an “Agenda Contributor”).

Perhaps BlackRock is realizing the error of its ways — or, at least in its messaging, that the everyday Americans whose money they depend on aren’t willing to gamble their future over partisan politics.

Fink’s fixation on ESG is an unserious take on the world’s greatest challenges (in fact, it ignores them entirely), and continuing down the path of financial activism will jeopardize more than just the company’s clients.

While wealthy investors focus their time and talents on “climate-related risk” — conveniently ignoring the fact that climate-related weather events kill 99% fewer people despite the world’s population quadrupling — the number one issue facing most of the world is energy poverty. 

Nearly 800 million people have no access to electricity at all, and billions more have only occasional power—which means no modern medical care, proper sanitation, safe sources of warmth in the wintertime, or even the simplest comforts like lights that allow children to do homework at night. Even the vast majority of products we use on a daily basis come from fossil fuels.

Even in the West, energy poverty is a serious issue. Nearly a third of American households reported difficulties affording their home energy costs — and that data was collected in 2020 well before Bidenflation. Furthermore, from 2021 to 2022 there was a 30% increase in families having their electricity disconnected and a staggering 76% increase in natural gas disconnects.

Demanding a switch to less useful and more expensive energy sources will have the biggest impact on the poor, and it means each person and business paying more for electricity will have less power to make a positive change in the world. This so-called energy transition will simply deindustrialize America to the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party. China won’t be so selfless as to voluntarily forego cheap, reliable fossil fuels — so going all-in on ESG would accomplish nothing beyond permanently cementing our dependence on Chinese imports and collapsing our national security.

If BlackRock truly believes in the power of capitalism to create a brighter future for our world, it should ditch climate alarmism and its fascination with decarbonization, and instead focus on fighting poverty around the world—including by boldly supporting access to affordable, reliable, and environmentally safe energy provided by fossil fuels.

Just imagine how the world could change if Larry Fink chose to use his company’s $10 trillion in assets under management to end global poverty.