BlackRock removed from Texas boycott list after quitting climate groups
June 3 (Reuters) - Texas on Tuesday removed BlackRock (BLK.N), opens new tab from a list of companies seen as boycotting the energy industry, a step the New York asset manager won only with steep cuts to its climate ambitions.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the decision reflected BlackRock's retreats from industry climate groups like the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. He also noted how the firm has lowered its support for shareholder environmental resolutions and backed a new Texas Stock Exchange.
BlackRock "has acknowledged the real social and economic costs, both here in Texas and globally, that come from limiting investment in the oil and gas industry," Hegar said in a statement.
The delisting will make it easier for Texas state agencies and funds to do business with the top asset manager. It could also help BlackRock answer claims brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over its environmental record.
BlackRock representatives did not immediately comment.
Hegar had added BlackRock and various European managers to his list in 2022 under a state law passed the prior year in response to Wall Street's embrace, at the time, of environmental and social investment priorities.
Faced with the political pressure, various BlackRock rivals had also left industry climate groups and cut back on their support for shareholder resolutions, which called for changes like emissions cuts or limits. Democratic leaders and climate activists, opens new tab have accused the companies of going soft on their support for environmental matters they once touted.
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