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Ben Cushing

@bmcushing.bsky.social
2.5K followers 1.1K following 94 posts

👋 Director of the @SierraClub.org Sustainable Finance Campaign: sc.org/sustainable-finance 📍 DC resident, Oakland raised 💭 Thinking a lot about climate, finance, politics, & the NBA

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Reposted by Ben Cushing
Office of NYC Comptroller Mark Levine @nyccomptroller.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
💰️ 🌱 New York City is putting $5 billion behind clean energy investments. Comptroller Levine is proposing an investment of $5 billion into private markets, targeting cleaner, more reliable energy while seeking to generate strong returns for our pensioners.
Background of NYC skyline with solar panels in the foreground. Text reads, "Bloomberg. NYC Pensions Eye Private Markets in $5 Billion Green Allocation."Background shows a building. From Bloomberg article, text reads: New York City Comptroller Mark Levine unveiled a plan to steer billions of dollars into private markets, characterizing the move as a shift designed to help the investor meet its climate-related goals while safeguarding returns.

The Comptroller’s Office’s Bureau of Asset Management said the proposal targets three of the City’s public pension funds: New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS), Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), according to a statement on Wednesday. In all, the plan is to allocate $5 billion to private markets.Background shows an electric vehicle charging. From Bloomberg article: “There’s a pretty compelling case that the most important projects are now being funded in the private markets,” Levine said in an interview. There’s “also a strong case that this is a good investment on financial merits. And because of all that, this is the right move right now.”

Levine’s plan to steer green capital into private markets coincides with climate week in New York, where more than 100,000 people are expected to gather over the coming days in order to discuss investments, policies and civil society measures that can help address global warming. For many, the event also represents an opportunity to highlight the affordability and security benefits of clean energy solutions.

Background is a close up of solar panels. 
From Bloomberg article: “Americans are facing high energy costs, while extreme weather is putting growing strain on infrastructure that wasn’t built for the climate challenges we face today,” Levine said in the statement.

“Our pension systems have an opportunity to put substantial capital to work in a growing sector,” he said. The goal is “seeking the strong returns our pensioners depend on while investing in cleaner, more reliable and resilient energy that can lower costs and reduce emissions at the same time.”
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Rainforest Action Network @ran.org · 09/06/2026
In 2025, just 12 banks provided almost 40% of ALL fossil fuel funding from banks worldwide. That’s right, a dozen dirty banks are responsible for well over a third of the $906 billion poured into fossil fuels last year. See where your bank falls: bankingonclimatechaos.org #BankingOnClimateChaos
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
NYC pensions’ new asset manager search could be a major accountability test. BlackRock and other managers seeking to handle public workers’ savings should meet the pensions’ climate-risk standards — or lose business to firms that will. @sierraclub.org statement: www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...
sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Applauds NYC Pensions for Continued Climate Progress, Calls for Stronger Implementation
Annual reports show progress toward net-zero goals and highlight next steps on climate-solutions standards and asset manager accountability
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 12/05/2026
Utility rates are in part going up to fund utility profits, and those shareholders are rewarding executives with eye popping figures.
energyandpolicy.org
Utility CEO pay surges amid higher profits, customer struggles
Investor-owned utilities paid their CEOs $622 million in 2025, lowering the bar for bonuses while customers struggled to afford bills.
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Labor Notes @labornotes.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Union members in many states and cities are holding pension boards accountable and advocating for investments that insure worker protections, climate resiliency, and decent retirement benefits. 1/2 labornotes.org/blogs/2026/0...
labornotes.org
It’s Our Money: Union Members Fight for Good Public Pension Investments
Union members in many states and cities are pushing for a stronger voice in pension investments. And sometimes they’re actually winning: They’re holding pension boards accountable and advocating for i...
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ACCR @accr.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
BP’s board has suffered a triple climate rebellion in its first shareholder meeting since appointing new leadership to steer the embattled oil company. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
BP board suffers triple climate rebellion from shareholders
More than 50% of voters at first AGM under new leadership oppose plans to scrap climate reporting
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 15/04/2026
📢 Annual @sierraclub.org scorecard ranks 33 major U.S. public pensions and reveals most are failing to adequately manage the climate-related financial risks to their investments through proxy voting.  See how your state stacks up:
sierraclub.org
The Hidden Risk in State Pensions
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
📢 The latest @sierraclub.org scorecard ranks 33 major U.S. public pensions and reveals most are failing to adequately manage the climate-related financial risks to their investments through proxy voting. See how your state stacks up here: www.sierraclub.org/hidden-risk-...
sierraclub.org
The Hidden Risk in State Pensions
Your nearest Sierra Club chapter:
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 17/03/2026
Did your power bills go up last month? It might be because Donald Trump is forcing old coal plants to stay online, and making YOU pay to keep them running. Listen to Sierra Club Senior Attorney Greg Wannier answer how this is possible ⬇️
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 24/02/2026
“If asset owners want to protect their investments from climate impacts, they must stop asset managers from financing the companies fueling the crisis. Too many still aren’t acting," write Sierra Club & Reclaim Finance in @climateandcap.bsky.social.
climateandcapitalmedia.com
Investors ignoring climate are risking our future, and theirs. Let’s fix that.
New research reveals most asset managers are fueling risk, jeopardizing planetary stability and long-term performance.
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Emily Atkin @emorwee.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Remember when CBS News laid off its whole climate reporting team last fall? Good news: I've scooped up their former senior climate producer, and now she's making a podcast with me. Sucks to suck, David Ellison! Listen/watch/subscribe here:
heated.world
Climate coverage is shrinking. We're expanding it.
Announcing a new weekly video podcast!
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
The GOP learned to lie--shamelessly and obviously--from three decades of climate denial. billmckibben.substack.com/p/thinking-a...
billmckibben.substack.com
Thinking about lying
Climate denial taught our leaders shamelessness
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 18/02/2026
The Sierra Club is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its rollback of key climate protections, arguing the move is illegal, unscientific, and harmful to public health.
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 18/02/2026
New @nyccomptroller.bsky.social @marklevinenyc.bsky.social & NYC pension trustees are weighing a $40B+ move from BlackRock over its climate failures — which could set a key national precedent, writes Sierra Club ED Loren Blackford in @crainsnewyork.bsky.social:
crainsnewyork.com
Op-ed: City's new comptroller, pension trustees must lead on climate
Comptroller Mark Levine and pension trustees can protect the city and its workers from the financial impacts of climate change.
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
The new @nyccomptroller.bsky.social @marklevinenyc.bsky.social & NYC pension trustees are weighing moving $40B+ out of BlackRock over its climate failures. This step could set a key national precedent, writes @sierraclub.org Executive Director Loren Blackford: www.crainsnewyork.com/op-ed/op-ed-...
crainsnewyork.com
Op-ed: City's new comptroller, pension trustees must lead on climate
Comptroller Mark Levine and pension trustees can protect the city and its workers from the financial impacts of climate change.
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 11/02/2026
🚨 BREAKING: Trump is moving to eliminate the EPA’s Endangerment Finding — one of the strongest legal tools we have to fight climate pollution. We will fight this. Polluters should pay — not the public. Read more at our statement bit.ly/4aNcAwb
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Reuters @reuters.com · 10/02/2026
Rejection of Texas law blacklisting 'woke' BlackRock could challenge anti-ESG laws in other states reut.rs/4bG88kO
reut.rs
Rejection of Texas law blacklisting 'woke' BlackRock could challenge anti-ESG laws in other states
A Texas judge's move to strike down a state law blacklisting "woke" financial firms, including BlackRock and HSBC, that used environmental, social or governance factors in investment decisions will likely drive a broader push to repeal so-called "anti-ESG" laws in other states, analysts said.
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Huge. Laws like this were designed to punish investors for taking basic steps to address climate risk. @sierraclub.org statement: www.sierraclub.org/press-releas... (Also worth noting: the firms targeted were never actually “boycotting” fossil fuels—that was political misinformation all along.)
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Jay Rosen @jayrosen.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
For those of you who: * Feel enraged to watch billionaires destroy important newsrooms and * Recall vaguely that Jeff Bezos was once considered a courageous owner who fortified the Washington Post I recommend this piece by the Post's former fact-checker glennkessler.substack.com/p/a-billiona...
glennkessler.substack.com
A Billionaire’s Surrender
Bezos is not trying to save The Washington Post. He’s trying to survive Donald Trump.
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Stop the Money Pipeline @stopmoneypipeline.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Short-term investor pressure is driving companies to ditch climate plans, even though climate risk threatens long-term portfolios and the entire economy. Great letter from @bmcushing.bsky.social @ @sierraclub.org: www.ft.com/content/e100...
ft.com
Letter: How climate goals skewed incentives for Shell and BP
From Ben Cushing, Director, The Sierra Club’s Sustainable Finance Campaign, Washington, DC, US
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 29/01/2026
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 29/01/2026
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Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 29/01/2026
TODAY: The Senate is expected to hold its first procedural vote on the DHS funding bill — and it can’t pass without Democratic votes. We need to flood the Senate with calls demanding Democrats hold the line and vote NO on giving more money to the regime’s death squads.
indivisible.org
Tell the Senate: Not a penny more for ICE brutality | Indivisible
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
My letter on the @financialtimes.com story on BP/Shell’s climate rollbacks is now published. The key takeaway: most investors should recognize that the interests of major polluters are often at odds with their own long-term portfolio interests—and should act accordingly. www.ft.com/content/e100...
ft.com
Letter: How climate goals skewed incentives for Shell and BP
From Ben Cushing, Director, The Sierra Club’s Sustainable Finance Campaign, Washington, DC, US
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Last week in Minnesota, I watched ordinary people risk their lives to protect their neighbors. In the process, they not only won a significant—though not final—victory against authoritarianism, they proved virtually every MAGA social theory wrong. (gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Every social theory undergirding Trumpism has been broken on the steel of Minnesotan resolve. The multiracial community in Minneapolis was supposed to shatter. It did not. It held until Bovino was forced out of the Twin Cities with his long coat between his legs.

The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone. In Minnesota, all of the ideological cornerstones of MAGA have been proved false at once. Minnesotans, not the armed thugs of ICE and the Border Patrol, are brave. Minnesotans have shown that their community is socially cohesive—because of its diversity and not in spite of it. Minnesotans have found and loved one another in a world atomized by social media, where empty men have tried to fill their lonely soul with lies about their own inherent superiority. Minnesotans have preserved everything worthwhile about “Western civilization,” while armed brutes try to tear it down by force.
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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 25/01/2026
tomorrow, StandWithMinnesota.com will hit a million site visits and over 650,000 unique visitors. i made it 10 days ago with $600 from you guys for hosting and cloudflare. thank you. thank you.
standwithminnesota.com
Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory
Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.
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Emily Atkin @emorwee.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Wrote myself a pep talk to get back to work tomorrow. It helped me. Hope it helps you.
heated.world
I don't know how to do this
But I'm going to keep doing it anyway.
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 21/01/2026
California pension @calpers.bsky.social invested $60B in 'climate solutions'. So why does that include fossil fuels?  As the largest U.S. public pension, what CalPERS does matters, writes Allie Lindstrom & Jakob Evans for @calmatters.org. calmatters.org/commentary/2...
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 22/01/2026
🚨 Our new scorecard reveals U.S. public pensions are lagging on investing in climate solutions like clean energy & resilience infrastructure, despite knowing that climate change massively threatens millions of public sector workers' retirement savings.
sierraclub.org
New Report: Most U.S. Public Pensions Lag on Investing in Climate Solutions Needed to Protect Retirement Savings
Only 4 of 30 pensions earn ‘strong’ scores for strategies to invest in climate solutions
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John Kostyack @kostyack.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
@bmcushing.bsky.social: “Climate change is undermining the financial security of workers and retirees, and threatening the long-term performance of the diversified portfolios that pensions depend on." New @sierraclub.org report highlights the handful of US pensions taking climate seriously.
Sierra Club report highlights 5 public pensions in US with climate-related investment targets.
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Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
How are public pension managers addressing climate risks in their investments? New @sierraclub.org report rates different funds on their approaches to these critical issues. @jessyewaxman.bsky.social @bmcushing.bsky.social
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jessyewaxman.bsky.social @jessyewaxman.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
📊🌍 NEW Sierra Club report: How are U.S. public pensions managing climate risk through their investments—and are they directing capital to credible #climate solutions? This thread breaks down the key findings. 🧵👇 Read: www.sierraclub.org/reports/sust...
sierraclub.org
The Climate Solutions Gap: An Assessment of U.S. Public Pensions’ Investment Strategies
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Hot off the presses: @sierraclub.org scorecard on how major US public pensions approach climate-solutions investing. Only 4 of 30 earned "strong" scores—despite growing recognition of the threat climate change poses to long-term portfolios and the broader economy. www.sierraclub.org/reports/sust...
sierraclub.org
The Climate Solutions Gap: An Assessment of U.S. Public Pensions’ Investment Strategies
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The New York Times @nytimes.com · 16/01/2026
President Trump’s attempts to torpedo offshore wind farms suffered a second blow this week when a federal judge ruled on Thursday that construction for the $5 billion Empire Wind project off Long Island could resume.
nyti.ms
Empire Wind Project Can Resume Construction, Judge Rules
A federal judge said the Empire Wind project off Long Island would suffer “irreparable harm” if the Trump administration continued to hold up work.
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The New Yorker @newyorker.com · 08/01/2026
An advance look at Barry Blitt’s “Guzzler,” the cover for next week’s issue. #NewYorkerCovers
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 07/01/2026
Jacob Frey: "To ICE -- get the fuck out of Minneapolis"
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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
The invasion of Venezuela has nothing to do with American security. Venezuela is not a security threat to the U.S.. This is about making Trump's oil industry and Wall Street friends rich. Trump's foreign policy - the Middle East, Russia, Venezuela - is fundamentally corrupt.
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Nina Lakhani @ninalakhani.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Let's not forget that Trump just pardoned Juan Orlando Hernández - ex-Honduras president who backed a coup, committed election fraud, violently repressed activists, lawyers, Indigenous people, youth etc - and was entenced to 35 years by an American jury for trafficking drugs and weapons into the US
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
International law won't constrain Trump's thirst for oil. But every solar panel that goes up makes crude reserves that much less valuable billmckibben.substack.com/p/just-possi...
billmckibben.substack.com
Just possibly it's the oil?
A solar panel is the new peace sign
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Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
This Yglesias piece in the NYT is horrifically bad. Almost every "fact" it cites is provably false. At best it is cocktail party banter from a pundit who knows nothing of energy. At worst, it was cut/paste from oil industry talking points. So, a rebuttal: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Obama Supported It. The Left in Canada and Norway Does. Why Don’t Democrats?
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Sierra Club @sierraclub.org · 17/12/2025
In 2025, while much of the financial sector backtracked on climate action, one key part of the system stepped up: public pension funds managing trillions in workers’ savings. 🏦 Here’s how our Sustainable Finance Campaign helped drive progress this year: bit.ly/3MH1q3t
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
👀 BlackRock just lost another ~$6B mandate after backsliding on addressing climate risk to its clients’ portfolios. NYC pension trustees meet this week and could approve the @nyccomptroller.bsky.social recommendation to shift $42B for the same reason. 🍿
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Ginny Roscamp @virginiainwa.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
🔥 New @reclaimfinance.org report endorsed by @sierraclub.org reveals pension funds are failing to stop their asset managers from supporting fossil fuel expansion. 🤯 30 biggest US & European AMs hold $17B in new bonds to fossil fuel developers. www.sierraclub.org/press-releas...
sierraclub.org
Sierra Club Endorses Report Revealing Pension Funds Failing to Stop Asset Managers Backing Fossil Fuel Expansion
30 biggest U.S., European asset managers held $17B in new bonds from fossil fuel developers
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
In 2025, much of the financial sector backtracked on climate action — but one major pillar stepped up: public pensions that manage trillions in workers’ savings. 🫰 Here’s our @sierraclub.org campaign year-end review of key developments & what’s next 👇 www.sierraclub.org/articles/202...
sierraclub.org
2025 in Review: Sustainable Finance Campaign Advances Investor Action on Climate Change
2025 has been a challenging year for climate action. In the U.S., the federal government rolled back climate protections and slashed support for clean energy, even as a wave of climate-fueled disaster...
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Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 24/11/2025
The price fossil fuel forces on everyone else.
Screenshot of text: "The cost of inaction: $7.7 trillion. The total in climate-related damages the US has run up since 2000, according to research by Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Andrew John Stevenson."
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Office of NYC Comptroller Mark Levine @nyccomptroller.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Last week, Comptroller Lander recommended NYC’s pension funds drop BlackRock + 2 other public asset managers due to inadequate decarbonization plans.   After evaluating the pension systems’ 49 managers, only 3 failed to submit plans with the seriousness we expect. comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/com...
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Michael Grunwald @mikegrunwald.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
In 2015, I wrote the first big article inside the war on coal for @politico.com. Ten years later, I wrote about how the war is going for @canarymedia.com. The @sierraclub.org is still winning the war, but Trump and AI are complicating the endgame. www.canarymedia.com/articles/cle...
canarymedia.com
Can the war on coal still be won?
Ten years ago, the U.S. was on track to phase out coal by 2030, thanks to the Sierra Club. Now Trump and AI are delaying the fuel’s decline.
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Bill McKibben @billmckibben.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Landmark move: New York City's comptroller @bradlander.bsky.social, with hundreds of billions under his control, recommends dropping investment giant Blackrock because they won't reckon with climate change. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
NYC’s Lander Recommends Dropping $42 Billion BlackRock Mandate
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is urging three of the city’s pension funds to drop BlackRock Inc. because of “inadequate” climate plans, the latest move to penalize investment firms for failing...
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Ben Cushing @bmcushing.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
👀 If the NYC pension boards adopt the @nyccomptroller.bsky.social recommendations and move BlackRock's $42B mandate to other asset managers, it could be one of the most consequential climate-related actions ever taken by a pension fund in the US or anywhere in the world.
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