Nebraska’s pension funds managers probably have their eyes on Texas and West Virginia in light of concerns over BlackRock Inc., the investment firm that handles part of the pension funds in many states.
BlackRock’s stance in favor of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions has caused consternation from a consumer advocacy group and states that have a lot of economic reliance on energy production. According to BlackRock, it is committed to supporting the goal of net zero gas emissions by 2050 or sooner.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick sent a letter to the Texas comptroller earlier this year. In it, he requested that the state pull its funds from BlackRock because of the firm’s stance on energy.
"As you prepare the official list of companies that boycott energy companies, I ask that you include BlackRock, and any company like them, that choose to hurt Texas oil and gas energy companies by boycotting them in violation of Senate Bill 13,” Patrick wrote in his letter to Comptroller Glenn Hegar.
Patrick cited several instances where he believes BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink has directly discriminated against the oil and gas industry.
"These statements indicate that BlackRock is capriciously discriminating against the oil and gas industry by exiting investments solely because companies do not subscribe to a ‘net zero’ policy beyond what is required by law," he said.
Elsewhere, West Virginia State Treasurer Riley Moore said in January that the Board of Treasury Investments, which manages the state's $8 billion in operating funds, will no longer use BlackRock. That decision was inspired by recent reports that BlackRock was urging companies to embrace “net-zero" investments and investment strategies, Moore said. This would harm the coal, oil and natural gas industries, on which West Virginia heavily relies. It was also motivated by BlackRock's investments in Chinese firms that pose investment risks and are not in the interests of the United States, according to MountainStateTimes.com.
When it comes to how much individual states have under BlackRock’s management, Nebraska ranks fifth, with about $9.4 billion in the money management firm’s hands, according to the Daily Signal and Cornhusker State News.
Data estimated from 2019 from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), show that Nebraska depends on fossil fuels. Its end-use consumption by source, excluding losses, breaks down like this: 3% from coal, 28% from natural gas, 38% from petroleum, 17% from renewable energy and 15% from electricity.
Electric power sector consumption by source was dominated by coal (58%), renewable energy (20%), and nuclear power (19%). Nebraska ranks second, trailing only Iowa, in ethanol fuel production, the EIA said.
In 2018, the state ranked seventh in the U.S. in terms of energy consumption. In 2020, Nebraska ranked third after Texas and California in the number of industrial electricity customers. In 2020, Nebraska obtained 51% of its in-state electricity net generation from coal, the agency said.
Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild said in an interview posted on YouTube on that Fink is taking actions that "are betraying the American consumer.” Regarding Fink and Blackrock pushing Americans toward green energy, Hild said, "He's not doing anything like that to the Chinese Communist Party. They're invested in PetroChina there and don't mess with any of their assets.”
Consumers' Research sent a letter to the 10 states with the most state pension fund money invested with BlackRock, according to nebraskabusinessdaily.com. Four of those 10 states have Democrats as governors: Jay Inslee of Washington; Kathy Hochul of New York; Steve Sisolak of Nevada; and Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania. The other six have Republican governors: Ron DeSantis of Florida; Pete Ricketts of Nebraska; Henry McMaster of South Carolina; J. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma; Greg Gianforte of Montana; and Jim Justice of West Virginia.
Fink wrote a 2022 outlook letter to companies BlackRock has invested in. In the letter, he said businesses not anticipating a carbon-free future risk being left behind and that it was a focus of BlackRock to help lead the transition to “net-zero,” houstondaily.com reported. The letter also said that "climate rise is investment risk" and BlackRock would be "exiting investments that present a high sustainability-related risk" while "launching new investment products that screen fossil fuels."
BlackRock was founded in 1988 and manages $10 trillion.