Thursday 13 February 2020

BlackRock fund to stop investing in oil sands

BlackRock has announced one of its fastest-growing green funds is to stop investing in tar sands.

The world’s largest asset manager will step away from the polluting fossil fuel resource - the high energy intensity of oil sands extraction, refining, and transport make it among the 'dirtiest' forms of energy on the planet.

Most of the world's tar sands are located in Northern Alberta - the resources in the region are said to be the third-largest reserves of fossil fuels in existence.

Campaign Representative Ben Cushing, from environmental group the Sierra Club, said: “We’re glad to see BlackRock start to act on its commitments and recognise that centring climate in its business decisions means cutting funding not only for coal but for all climate-destabilising investments including dirty tar sands oil.

"This is an important step in the right direction. BlackRock should exclude tar sands from all its climate funds and make these funds the default option for investors. When BlackRock acts, asset managers like State Street and Vanguard follow - and we'll be making sure they do."