“Spain is undervalued by world investors. I think Spain has the opportunity to be the transformative country in Europe. It has sun, it has wind. It is one of the leaders in solar and wind energy, but it has much more potential.” This is how positive Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is with this country.
Fink held a digital meeting with the president of BBVA, Carlos Torres, a meeting that was disclosed during the celebration of the II BBVA Sustainability Forum, held this Thursday afternoon at the bank’s headquarters in Madrid.
Fink responded in this way to a question from Torres about this country: “You have a gas pipeline from Algeria. You have an educated working population. You have large international companies. I think Spain is going to be one of the leaders in this transition, especially in the European Union. And I think it has the opportunity to show its potential, but above all to show its economic strength”. Fink views Spain “with a lot of optimism in relation to other places in Europe, but also as a global driver towards decarbonization,” he said. .
The CEO of BlackRock warned that Spain has been innovative, but that it could be more so. “It’s been hurt by drought and record temperatures. Record heat means there’s been plenty of sunshine. You’ve got to harness that solar energy. Because of the heat, the wind picks up. There will be more opportunities here with the wind. But it can also to be a leader in many other areas within decarbonization. I look at Spain with immense enthusiasm,” he reiterated.
Fink pointed out that the decarbonization process requires “adopting in the short term some forms of hydrocarbons such as gas, which is obviously less polluting than others.” In this sense, the number one from BlackRock was “very satisfied” that Europe “has finally concluded that gas is green.”
The energy transition implies “adopting in the short term some forms of hydrocarbons, such as gas”
In his opinion, “hydrogen is going to be the source of energy for large engines, for large machinery”; he also noted that “in the short term we are probably going to have higher coal utilization, but I don’t think that will change our future.” He highlighted the importance of carbon sequestration: “The world’s major energy companies are going to be leaders in carbon sequestration,” he said.
Regarding her role, as an asset manager, in the energy transition, she explained that from BlackRock “we are not demanding anything from anyone. We only ask for information, how are you progressing? And we are seeing a very big change in the last two years”, praised. She feels “proud” of how “capitalism” has been advancing in this; “Now some environmentalists will say we’re not moving fast enough,” she added. .
Larry Fink also acknowledged that he is experiencing “the period of greatest economic and political uncertainty that I have perhaps seen in my professional career.”
“Our customers are clamoring for investment in decarbonisation technologies”
He emphasized the challenge of the green transition. Beyond the use of gas, he noted, “We’re going to have to create better battery technology, which comes with its own challenges and risks because it requires some very rare metals that are only found in a few places in the world. It’s mostly made in China. , which has its own problems, having that dependency,” he explained.
“If we wanted to create a very unfair world we could phase out hydrocarbons tomorrow and create a very big recession. And then we could quickly try to shift to more decarbonized technology. Personally I don’t think that would work, it’s not fair or equitable, and it would leave the markets emerging behind, and they can’t afford that,” he reflected. “They can’t even afford what’s happening right now,” she added. “So all these problems are very serious, but I’m more confident than ever that we’re going to find solutions.”
He also alluded to the interest of his investors in the ecological transition: “Our clients are crying out for investment in decarbonization technologies, and let’s be clear, it’s about working with hydrocarbon companies, not against them,” he stressed.
Facebook Comments
Disqus