...By channeling global investment capital into the industries driving this crisis, the financial sector is instrumental in enabling the crisis, and therefore has a critical role to play in averting catastrophic outcomes, and instead financing the transition to a livable planet. Yet, the world’s largest investors have barely begun to evaluate the risks associated with their investments in the sectors responsible for driving the climate crisis. 

This paper examines the role of BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager with $6.5 trillion USD of assets under management, in financing the global crisis of deforestation and land conflict. By evaluating BlackRock’s holdings in 167 publicly listed companies active in palm oil, cattle, pulp and paper, rubber, soy and timber between 2015 and 2018, this research documents BlackRock’s substantial exposure to deforestation and land conflict risks. The paper also considers BlackRock’s recently publicized approach to engagement in the palm oil sector, offers brief Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) risk profiles of a subset of companies selected from BlackRock’s portfolios, and shows that BlackRock’s ESG-labeled funds contain numerous highrisk holdings in deforestation and conflict-linked securities...