Asset manager BlackRock threatens to sell shares in worst climate polluters

World's biggest investor vows to support net zero carbon pledge amid pressure to divest from fossil fuels

BlackRock, the world's biggest investment fund manager, has threatened to sell shares in the worst corporate pollutersin a bid to support the goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050.

Larry Fink, BlackRock's chief executive, said the investor would ask companies whose shares it holds to disclose their plans to achieve net zero emissions. The new approach is set out in Fink's annual letter to CEOs around the world. BlackRock could then divest from polluting companies in its actively managed funds - which represent about a tenth of its assets - if they did not improve.