Finanzas sostenibles y de deuda soberana: análisis de las trayectorias narrativas y prácticas de BlackRock

Abstract

In recent years, BlackRock Inc. has adopted an ambiguous and/or wavering stance regarding the intersection of finance and sustainability, particularly with regard to climate change. It is noteworthy to observe a discernible shift in position on the part of the firm, from its previous explicit advocacy for the development and expansion of sustainable finance markets. Instead, it has been observed to adopt a more conservative stance, which some commentators have termed an 'evolutionary u-turn'. The present article aims to analyse the shifts in BlackRock's discourse and practice regarding sustainability and their impact on sovereign debt markets. The article puts forward the working hypothesis that BlackRock's shifts in discourse and investment within sustainable markets, including sovereign debt markets, among others, were catalysed in response to the emergence of forces undermining environmental, governance and sustainability agendas in the United States and other influential countries in international finance. Alongside the opening up and continuation of business opportunities and regulatory influence surrounding strategies for physical risk mitigation and the energy transition, these shifts in discourse and investment can be attributed to the forces that catalysed them. Such setbacks have served to reinforce the formation of a vicious circle between concurrent crises, namely debt, development and climate. The present study draws upon a range of theoretical and conceptual contributions within the framework of critical International Political Economy in order to analyse the subject.