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Summarised by Centrist
A flagship $2 billion climate infrastructure fund hailed as a breakthrough for New Zealand’s clean energy ambitions is being shut down by BlackRock.
Less than three years after being promoted as a model for the world, the fund is closing with no confirmed investments ever publicly disclosed.
The New Zealand Climate Infrastructure Fund was announced in 2023 with strong backing from the then Labour government, which framed BlackRock’s involvement as a major step toward achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity.
Former prime minister Chris Hipkins called it “a game changer for the clean tech sector”, while BlackRock chief executive Larry Fink said it would be the firm’s largest single-country low-carbon transition investment.
The fund was pitched as a vehicle to finance battery storage, wind and solar generation, electric vehicle charging, and natural capital projects. Yet by mid-2024, reporting indicated BlackRock had not deployed capital through the fund, despite assurances that investment potential remained strong regardless of policy settings.
In November last year, BlackRock moved to deregister the limited partnership behind the initiative, stating it had “ceased to carry on business”. In a statement, the company cited client feedback and its acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners as reasons for scrapping the standalone New Zealand fund.
BlackRock said it would instead offer clients access to global infrastructure strategies that could invest in New Zealand.
With no clear evidence of capital deployed, BlackRock’s quiet exit suggests the initiative functioned more as a symbol of ambition than a working engine of investment.
Editor’s note: When the Government and BlackRock announced the $2 billion climate fund in 2023, Centrist cautioned that the initiative was heavy on intention but light on substance, noting that no money had been raised, no investments identified, and no formal agreement existed.
