A major New York City pension fund declined Wednesday to cancel an investment contract with asset manager BlackRock, which climate advocates have accused of stalling the global clean energy transition.
The board running a $96 billion pension fund for municipal workers tabled a proposal by New York City’s comptroller to take its assets away from BlackRock because the firm would not pressure companies in its portfolio to decarbonize.
Comptroller Brad Lander recommended in November that the fund — along with separate funds for teachers and for school employees — cancel BlackRock’s contract to invest $42 billion of their assets.
Environmentalists also have urged the systems to drop BlackRock, saying it has backtracked on climate commitments and continues to finance fossil-fuel expansion around the world.
