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Climate change

Feb 21, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – There is this great silence on all fronts about what agitated many and drove more to extremes. It is climate change concerns, and the determined push to bring about meaningful change to give the environment and its many life forms a chance at security, the kind of quality existence that is alien to many already.
At one time, no less a powerful place than the White House and the President of the United States, took up the climate change mantle and led the charge. It was storm and fire while it lasted, but then faded into the whimper that seems to be the settled norm now. The President’s agenda has gotten all muddied, by one political tangle after another, sometimes from within his own fold. Now the climate change ship, as once piloted by the White House, lists pathetically, lacking in steam and influence. It is no longer a driving force for change, but a shadow of the promise that it held out before the hopeful who expected much, but must now lick their wounds and regroup.
In the corporate world, there was a hailstorm of noise from more than a few quarters. Some enormously significant, and some who were not the kind to be messed with, by going toe to toe with them. Heavyweight investors they are known as, and they can cast a formidable, if not feared, shadow in the upper reaches of corporate corridors, and the civilized confines of corporate boardrooms and their well-fed, well-padded around the waist, fat cat directors. The heavyweights don’t come any bigger and bolder than BlackRock Inc. and its leader first had something alarming to say about climate change, (from the perspective of concerned corporate powers) then he didn’t.
In BlackRock’s annual letter to CEOs in early 2020, its CEO, Larry Fink, said that “climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects…” meaning that they, corporate chieftains, have to stop digging in their heels and do more of substance, and less of what rings hollow with regard to climate change. This was from an entity that is the largest asset manager on the planet with over US$7 trillion under management. It wields tremendous influence over the leaders of many companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Averages on the New York Stock Exchange. When BlackRock speaks, corporate executive tremble and listen respectfully.
That was in 2020, whereas now in 2022, the same BlackRock Inc. through the same CEO Larry Fink, sings a different tune, a subtle one that was treated harshly by one candid commentator. He is Vivek Ramaswamy and he pointed to what he opined was “BlackRock’s climate crusade double-talk -CEO Larry Fink says that companies should have a ‘purpose’ but urges them to advance what he favors” (Wall Street Journal, February 6). In this year’s annual newsletter to CEOs, the new posture of BlackRock is that “Stakeholder capitalism is not about politics…it is capitalism”. On this occasion, BlackRock’s latest position, as given voice by its CEO Mr. Fink, was that corporate chiefs must stay faithful to their own companies’ ‘purpose.’ As we interpret that purpose could only mean one thing, which is to maximize profits and shareholder returns.
Mr. Fink went on, “Your companies’ purpose is its north star in this tumultuous environment…” The powerful CEO used the word purpose eight times in his annual newsletter. It was as if he was beating them on the head with a hammer with hidden messages. Climate change is nice and sweet, but it is an earnings killer and could be a source of corporate sluggishness. Make money by the fistful, and shareholders will be delighted, which is the raison d’etre of companies, nothing else. In the same newsletter, he said that “CEOs must set short-, medium-, and long-term targets for greenhouse gas reductions.” But, as the writer noted, he can’t have it both ways. Of interest to Guyanese is that in 2018, ExxonMobil’s purpose was clear. Namely, make money for its shareholders. Making money and climate change challenges are like two scorpions in a bottle, meaning, that something must give. It is not going to be profit maximization, which means climate change just took a body blow from several powerful directions.

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