BlackRock’s Fink Calls on Investors to Embrace ESG: NEF Update

BlackRock Inc. Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said a growing number of investors are focusing on climate change and that companies embracing stakeholder capitalism are outperforming peers. Speaking at a Bloomberg New Economy Forum event broadcast Thursday, he said Joe Biden’s decision to return the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement will be “monumental” and would support the work of investors that have focused on climate change.

On the third day of the four-day forum, Fink joined other world leaders and industry chiefs in discussing how they would deal with the challenges posed by climate change. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe wants to invest over a third of its 750-billion-euro ($890 billion) economic stimulus in projects compatible with the bloc’s climate neutrality goal. Other panelists agreed that the march toward a greener economy is headed into a more difficult second phase that will aim to replace carbon as an energy source.

Bill Gates and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, will headline the final day of the conference, which will focus on global health. Pharmaceutical industry executives such as Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel and senior epidemiologists including China’s Wu Zunyou are also set to speak.