The World's Largest Asset Manager Changing Its Focus to Climate Change

11 Feb, 2020

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, will make climate change central to its investment decisions. Founder and CEO Laurence Fink, who oversees the management of about $7 trillion in funds, said that he believes we are "on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance" because of a warming planet.

Climate change has become the top issue raised by clients, Fink said, and will affect everything from municipal bonds to long-term mortgages for homes.

The New York firm is taking immediate action, exiting investments in coal used to generate power, and will begin asking clients to disclose their climate-related risks.

Meanwhile, the European Union plans to dedicate a quarter of its budget to tackling climate change and has set up a scheme to shift 1 trillion euros in investment toward making the economy more environmentally friendly over the next 10 years.

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