BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager with $7.4 trillion in assets under management, has positioned itself in favor of accelerating the closure of AGL Energy’s coal-fired power stations.
BlackRock is the largest shareholder in AGL, an Australian company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, AGL is Australia's largest energy generator and heaviest carbon emitter, accounting for 8 percent of national emissions.
Some 100 of AGL’s shareholders backed a resolution filed by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility this week, which called for an accelerated exit from coal. The resolution garnered 20.4 percent of shareholder support; however, it failed to gain traction among the energy giant’s board members, as well as other prominent AGL investors.
Ditching coal would mean retiring the Loy Yang A power plant, the largest brown c
