In an annual letter to chief executives in January, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink had said that sustainability should be at the centre of the fund's investment strategy going forward and that his firm would immediately stop investing in companies that “present high sustainability related risk” such as coal producers. He also said that climate change was "almost invariably the top issue that clients around the world raised”.

In a recent report, Blackrock said it had placed around 244 companies on a watch list as they were not making sufficient progress on climate change initiatives. The asset manager said that it took a voting action at the annual meeting of more than 50 companies and this was via re-election of directors, calling for executive accountability or backing new shareholder proposals asking for stricter environmental regulations. These included big names like carmaker Daimler, Volvo and oil and gas major Exxon Mobil, and coal miner Peabody Energy.

Blackrock also said that the remaining 191 companies risked voting action in 2021 if they did not make substantial progress.

The report said: “Going forward, we will continue to review our process for engaging and voting on climate risk and other sustainability-related issue. We have made important progress heightening our focus on sustainability, but we are also committed to constantly enhancing our approach in order to protect our clients’ long-term investments.”