Louisiana to remove $794 mln from BlackRock funds over ESG drive

Oct 5 (Reuters) – Louisiana will pull $794 million out of BlackRock Inc’s funds, state Treasurer John Schroder mentioned on Wednesday, citing the asset administration large’s push to embrace environmental, social and governance (ESG) funding methods.

“This divestment is important to guard Louisiana from mandates BlackRock has referred to as for that may cripple our crucial power sector,” Schroder mentioned in a press release.

The U.S. state has already withdrawn $560 million from the funds thus far, he mentioned.

BlackRock didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters’ request for remark.

The corporate, which managed practically $8.49 trillion of belongings as of June 30, has confronted criticism from many sides within the debate on low-carbon fuels.

Whereas environmentalists have protested that the world’s largest asset supervisor does too little to press for change at fossil gasoline portfolio corporations, Republican politicians have accused it of boycotting power shares.

Reporting by Niket Nishant and Mehr Bedi in Bengaluru; Modifying by Sriraj Kalluvila

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