BlackRock, the largest asset managers in the world, tüncht green. Why the climate is cheering motion, although the announcement has loopholes.

BlackRock carbon papers repel want photo: Stratenschulte/dpa

BERLIN taz | Larry Fink is probably the most powerful man on wall street: He is the boss of BlackRock, the largest money Manager in the world. His assessments of the financial world to move on. And therefore, what he on Tuesday published is likely to have, a significant impact: "The consciousness is changing rapidly, and I am convinced that we are facing a fundamental reshaping of the financial world," wrote Fink in a "CEO-Letter".

For a company that invests on behalf of its clients, worldwide 7 trillion dollars in everything could be profitable, that is almost a redefinition of capitalism: "The awareness", not quarterly reports, annual figures, technologies and their efficiency are at the starting point of an epochal upheaval.

Fink speaks from the awareness of the climate catastrophe. "In fact, climate change is almost always the most important topic in discussions with our customers around the world," writes Fink. Climate risks would force investors to rethink their Central assumptions of the modern financial economy.

of Course, wants to brush up on BlackRock with such sentences also his Image – and has no Problem in financing on behalf of its clients, bombers, or Fracking. Among other things, BlackRock invests according to the world 59 billion euros in German DAX-listed companies, including Siemens,. In the Supervisory Board of the German subsidiary, a certain Friedrich Merz's.

The climate movement evaluated by Fink letter on Wednesday as a great success. "You can now say with reasonable certainty that the climate movement has done the impossible, she moved the Unbeweg possible", writes Brett Fleishman. He heads for the NGO 350.org the Central global campaign, the climate movement is to move the financial industry to change course. That seemed unimaginable a few years ago.

But now, more and more large private and public banks, insurers and asset managers are taking their money, at least from the dirtiest forms of fossil energy production. Goldman Sachs will not Finance Drilling for oil in the Arctic, and more. The largest investment Bank in the world, the EIB is the EU, even completely from the financing of fossil energy. For the controversial coal mine of the Indian group Adani in Australia almost no private investors could be found more.

BlackRock is driven by a global development at all levels. Politically, the EU surges ahead, especially the power it will soon be mandatory, investors*interior sustainable Alternatives to offer. Ursula von der Leyens Plan to lift for your Green New Deal in the EU hundreds of billions of euros of private capital, is not so unrealistic: Fink letter is only one of many voices from the world of Finance, according to the investors wringing their hands after climate-friendly investments looking, but too little of them.

BlackRock is anything other than a pioneer, on the contrary. In part, what the asset Manager is sold as sustainable is pure Greenwashing. Just one example: In the case of investors*a very popular so-called ETF-funds are currently. The are Fund, key stock indices like the DAX or the world stock index MSCI World map. They are often managed in an automated system, and cause little ongoing cost. You are a reason for black rocks rise after the financial crisis of 2008.

The Problem is that investors*buy interior in order to all sorts of company. That is why BlackRock is also "sustainable" ETFs offer, such as the iShares MSCI Europe SRI Ucits ETF EUR Acc. If you buy the, you invested in the Oil company Total and the food giant Unilever. "We are convinced that sustainability should be our new investment standard," writes Fink. But who deals with the topic knows that the devil is in the Detail.

So Blackrock securities of companies that "derive more than 25 percent of their revenues from the coal production will", from its active investment portfolio to eliminate. Sounds sustainable, but it need not be. Smart businesses outsource the coal production in a subsidiary company. An "active investment portfolio" means, moreover, that coal producers may well still be present in the passive ETF funds. And a utility that makes electricity from coal is also a coal producer. Black rocks Eco announcement contains giant loopholes.

The major U.S. environmental organization the Sierra Club, in an analysis of the "Larry's Letter," sober: BlackRock is the world's largest Investor in coal, Oil, Gas and forest destruction. The Initiative "Stop the Money Pipeline", translated about "stop the flow of money" (for fossil fuels), has therefore, in addition to the major Bank JPMorgan Chase and insurer Liberty Mutual especially BlackRock in the visor. It includes various well-known NGOs, among other actors*demonstrating last week inside Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen and Joaquin Phoenix against the company.

The New York Times, see Fink letter, nevertheless, to be positive, especially because more and more companies and governments climate protection seriously. "In this context, Mr. Fink Move is a turning point – one that can trigger a national debate in the world of Finance and politics," the newspaper writes.

actually, the Ball is now in the field of politics. Still a long Fink-quote: "One of the most important questions that will face us in the next few years, is the scale and scope of government action against climate change. You will determine how quickly the Transition to a low-carbon economy can succeed.“ Among other things, a higher CO2-price is the way to go.

Freely translated, means: If the policy is, then we deserve just for the future of our money with climate protection. If not, then not.