Crain’s: Comptroller blasts BlackRock for picking oil exec for board
July 20, 2023 The article discusses New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s critique of BlackRock for appointing the CEO of Saudi Aramco, a major oil company, to its board, highlighting a perceived contradiction between BlackRock’s professed commitment to climate change mitigation and its actions. This appointment has sparked concerns about the sincerity of BlackRock’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts, particularly given the company’s significant role in managing New York City’s pension funds, which have set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. The incident reflects broader debates within the financial sector about the alignment of investment strategies with climate change goals and raises questions about the effectiveness of ESG initiatives in the face of financial entanglements with the fossil fuel industry.