Wall Street will play a key role at COP28, the annual summit on climate change convened by the United Nations. Chief among them is BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. He is the heavily criticized investment icon fronting the Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement, which leverages corporate power to advance progressive causes. According to Bloomberg:
Fink, who is on the COP28 advisory committee, will be joined by a growing list of finance executives that includes C. S. Venkatakrishnan of Barclays Plc and Bill Winters of Standard Chartered Plc, according to spokespeople for the firms. Citigroup Inc. is planning to send a delegation, while a number of major Wall Street banks have indicated to Bloomberg that their CEOs are likely to attend.
Fink recently claimed the term “ESG” has become “toxic” and pledged to avoid it, but he continues to quietly leverage BlackRock’s financial power to achieve progressive political goals.
Ironically, the other industry that will be heavily represented at COP28 is hydrocarbons. The summit will also be hosted by the United Arab Emirates, one of the largest producers of oil & gas. Bloomberg notes that financial motives may also be in play:
The International Energy Agency has made clear since 2021 that the goals of the Paris climate accord will only be reached if no new oil and gas projects are financed.
[Summit host Sultan] Al Jaber has emphasized another IEA statistic, namely that the world needs to triple the deployment of renewable energy. It’s a focus that banks and asset managers are keen to monetize.
Renewable energy is capital intensive, so the proposed “transition” creates demand for investment. While Larry Fink and the rest of Wall Street claim their allegiance to ESG is motivated by virtue, they’re more motivated by profit.
