"A Fundamental Reshaping of Finance", 14 January 2020

Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects... [C]limate change is almost invariably the top issue that clients around the world raise with BlackRock.. [and] driving a profound reassessment of risk and asset values.... BlackRock announced a number of initiatives to place sustainability at the center of our investment approach, including: making sustainability integral to portfolio construction and risk management; exiting investments that present a high sustainability-related risk... and strengthening our commitment to sustainability and transparency... Governments and the private sector must work together to pursue a transition that is both fair and just... [A] company cannot achieve long-term profits without embracing purpose and considering the needs of a broad range of stakeholders... Companies and countries that champion transparency and demonstrate their responsiveness to stakeholders, by contrast, will attract investment more effectively, including higher-quality, more patient capital... This year, we are asking the companies that we invest in... to: (1) publish a disclosure in line with industry-specific [Sustainability Accounting Standards Board] guidelines... and (2) disclose climate-related risks in line with the [Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures]’s  recommendations... [W]e will be increasingly disposed to vote against management and board directors when companies are not making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them.