Texas and 10 other Republican-led states are suing BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard, alleging they conspired to curtail coal supplies to further “a destructive, politicised environmental agenda”.
The federal antitrust lawsuit accuses the three largest US index fund managers of using their holdings in the coal producers to constrict supplies and drive up prices in pursuit of net zero carbon emissions goals.
The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday, marks the latest effort by Republican states as they step up their war on what conservatives call “woke capitalism”.
“Texas will not tolerate the illegal weaponisation of the financial industry in service of a destructive, politicised environmental agenda,” said state attorney-general Ken Paxton.
“Their conspiracy has harmed American energy production and hurt consumers. This is a stunning violation of state and federal law.”
The lawsuit is the latest fusillade in a three-year battle that has led to Republican politicians boycotting BlackRock and other money managers for being allegedly “hostile” to fossil fuels, and seeking to impose tougher scrutiny on their holdings and banks and energy companies.
In March, a Texas state fund pulled $8.5bn of assets from BlackRock after placing it on a blacklist for allegedly discriminating against oil and gas companies. BlackRock said at the time the move “put short-term politics over . . . long-term fiduciary responsibilities”.