EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CANCEL THE CONTRACT WITH BLACKROCK

The document argues that BlackRock Investment Management (UK) is unfit to advise the European Commission on environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in banking because of its financial stakes in fossil fuels and its history of lobbying against the EU taxonomy. The signatories claim that BlackRock's role as a major shareholder in European and global banks, as well as its holdings in coal, oil, and gas, create a conflict of interest that undermines the European Green Deal. The letter requests the cancellation of the contract, public disclosure of future reports, and a revision of the Commission's consultation procedures to reduce the influence of the fossil fuel industry.

• The signatories argue that BlackRock Investment Management (UK) cannot provide neutral advice because it has lobbied against the EU taxonomy, supporting positions from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) that opposed the EU's approach in favour of one resembling BlackRock's own taxonomy.
• BlackRock is identified as having significant financial conflicts of interest due to its holdings in fossil fuel companies and banks that fund them, including a 6.77 percent share of JP Morgan Chase and stakes in Total (6.3%), RWE (7%), and Shell (6.5%), alongside $87.3 bn in coal.
• The document claims BlackRock lacks neutrality because it is a member of organisations it is tasked to consider in the tender, specifically the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and the IIF’s Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG).
• The signatories express concern that the European Commission's reliance on financial sector representatives for external advice, while excluding civil society from the BlackRock tender, risks allowing the fossil fuel industry to exert undue influence over the European Green Deal.

APA

Reclaim Finance (2020). EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CANCEL THE CONTRACT WITH BLACKROCK. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BlackRock-Open-Letter-EU.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CANCEL THE CONTRACT WITH BLACKROCK. 2020. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BlackRock-Open-Letter-EU.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Reclaim Finance |title=EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CANCEL THE CONTRACT WITH BLACKROCK |date=29 April 2020 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BlackRock-Open-Letter-EU.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{reclaimfinance2020european, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{EUROPEAN COMMISSION: CANCEL THE CONTRACT WITH BLACKROCK}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2020}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BlackRock-Open-Letter-EU.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }