BlackRock President and CEO Laurence D. Fink attends a session at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 23, 2020.
COFFRINI MANUFACTURER
Singapore State Investor Temasek Holdings and asset manager BlackRock will do just that teams up to invest in private companies that use technology to reduce carbon emissions, companies said Tuesday.
The partnership, called Decarbonization Partners, will launch a series of late-stage and early-growth venture capital investment funds, the two companies said in a statement.
Temasek and BlackRock intend to commit a combined initial capital of $ 600 million to invest in funds, which would also raise money from third-party investors. The first fund has a goal of $ 1 billion and will include capital from both companies.
“The world cannot achieve its zero net ambitions without transformative innovation,” Larry Fink, president and CEO of BlackRock, said in a joint statement.
“For decarbonization solutions and technologies to transform our economy, they need to be scaled up,” Fink said. “To do this, they need patient capital, well managed, to sustain their vital goals.”
He said the partnership would help define climate solutions as an independent asset class, essential to the two companies’ collective mission, as well as “a historic investment opportunity created by the zero net transition”.
BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, is pushing companies to reveal how they will survive in a world of net greenhouse gas emissions.
In this year’s annual letter to CEOs, Fink said better disclosures about sustainability are in the interests of companies as well as investors.
Temasek, a leading global investor, is committed to halving emissions from its portfolio by 2030. It finally plans to move to zero net emissions by 2050.
“Bold and aggressive action is needed to make zero-zero global ambition a reality,” said Dilhan Pillay, CEO of Temasek International. “Through collective efforts with partners with the same idea, we will be able to create
sustainable value for all long-term stakeholders, and investors will have the opportunity to contribute to the provision of innovative solutions at scale to meet climate challenges. “
Decarbonisation Partners’ funds will invest in start-up companies in areas such as electric and autonomous vehicle technologies, battery storage, network solutions and emerging fuel sources.
The funds will be managed by Temasek and BlackRock employees, as well as a team of professionals recruited to obtain and make investments and manage the portfolio.