How BlackRock Is Capitalizing on the Climate Crisis

Whether or not governments take action on climate change, the world’s largest asset manager is poised to profit.

Photo credit: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images via EcoWatch

If assets under management were national GDP, the third-largest economy on the planet would be a for-profit corporation.¹

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, oversees more than $10 trillion worth of investments.² By the company’s own calculations, more than 500 billion of those dollars are in funds that it markets as “sustainable.”³

Climate change will affect humanity in many unknowable ways, but one consequence is already clear: BlackRock’s astronomical investment portfolio, and the power and influence the firm draws from it, will grow even larger.

That’s the argument of my latest article, For BlackRock, The Climate Crisis Is A Win-Win-Win, which was published in The Lever on Monday. The story explores how BlackRock has positioned itself to cash in on climate change no matter how (or whether) governments take meaningful action.

I also joined Breaking Points with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti to discuss the story. You can watch our conversation here.

Thanks to David Sirota, Joel Warner, Aditi Ramaswami, Andrew Perez, and the team at The Lever for editing and publishing the story, and to Breaking Points for having me on to discuss it!

1. https://www.investopedia.com/insights/worlds-top-economies/

2. https://www.wsj.com/articles/blackrock-now-manages-over-10-trillion-in-assets-11642162013

3. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-14/blackrock-s-sustainable-investment-funds-surge-to-509-billion