© Reuters. FILE PHOTO. The BlackRock logo is displayed outside its headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., May 25, 2021. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
NEW YORK, Feb 16 (Reuters) – A live broadcast of BlackRock (NYSE:) was halted multiple times on Thursday after questions about the company’s climate change responsibilities interrupted a speech by its chairman, Robert Kapito. .
Kapito was speaking about bonds at the Bank of America (NYSE:) Securities Financial Services Conference in New York when someone at the event asked loudly about BlackRock’s liability for fossil fuel investments.
Panel moderator Craig Siegenthaler, managing director of BofA Global Research, asked for security to be called, and Kapito said he would respond “in a timely manner, without disrupting the event.”
The live stream from the BlackRock website switched to playing music. The situation was repeated twice in the following minutes.
Climate change activists have been urging BlackRock to stop investing in fossil fuel companies for years.
BlackRock has rejected the idea of divesting from fossil fuels, instead wanting to help companies transition to a low-carbon economy.
The company has faced criticism from many quarters in the debate, with environmentalists protesting how little it does to push for change at the fossil fuel companies in its portfolio, and US Republican politicians accusing it of boycotting shares. energetic.
(Reporting by Davide Barbuscia; Editing in Spanish by Javier López de Lérida)
