New research puts a US$681 billion estimate on financial company losses linked to stranded assets in the oil and gas sector. Stuart Kirk, global head of responsible investments for HSBC, presented a talk earlier this month called “Why Investors Need Not Worry About Climate Risk” at a Financial Times Moral Money summit. In it, he dismissed the climate threat by saying it was just another hyperbolic “sky is falling” scenario, similar to Y2K fears at the turn of the millennium. BlackRock holds $259 billion in fossil fuel-invested client assets, with significant holdings in Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and Kinder Morgan, among others, the Times reported. That means that multiple players, including municipalities and people with pension funds invested in BlackRock and other financial firms, are potentially exposed to future climate losses.

Source: CNN May 31, 2022 02:58 UTC