BlackRock backs new hub for company climate data

LONDON (AP) — Investment giant BlackRock says it is backing a new London-based research hub which will provide asset managers with information on how the companies they invest in are addressing the risk resulting from climate change. BlackRock said Tuesday it is joining the Transition Pathway Initiative, a London-based group that is already supported by dozens of major institutional investors, from banks to public retirement funds. The initiative, which says it now has the backing of investors with a combined $40 trillion of assets under management or advisement, said it will significantly expand from 400 the number of companies it reports on. The announcement comes days before the start of a U.N. climate summit in Glasgow.