Wall Street says climate activists’ arguments are flawed
Against a backdrop of intensifying climate protests targeting Wall Street, the heavyweights of US finance are pushing back against what they characterize as a fundamentally flawed debate.
For more than a month now, scores of activists have mounted near-daily protests outside the Manhattan headquarters of Citigroup Inc., with video footage showing tense scenes and a memo to staff urging employees to stay cool. The campaign — dubbed “Summer of Heat” — promises a steady escalation of disruptions and says its ultimate goal is to “shut down Wall Street.”
Activists block the entrance of the Citigroup headquarters during the “Summer of Heat” campaign on June 28.
Far from caving in to such pressure, Wall Street is coalescing around a clear message: Private money will only invest in the clean-energy transition to the extent that it makes economic sense.
“Finance has a big, big role to play,” said Emmanuel Lagarrigue, a partner at KKR & Co. who’s also its co-head of climate. But, “if you really want this to succeed, if you really want private capital to come in” and support the green transition, “it has to create returns at the same time as it decarbonizes. It’s not either or, it’s both.”
Ultimately, “if we subsidize our way through the transition, it’s going to stall at some point,” he said in an interview.
Versions of the same message are being repeated across the global finance industry. KKR co-founder Henry Kravis said last month that climate activists who “would like to push a button and have no hydrocarbons” simply “don’t understand the facts.” Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer CS Venkatakrishnan has said the world “can’t go cold turkey” on oil and gas.
At JPMorgan Chase & Co., CEO Jamie Dimon has called it “wrong” and
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