Investment giant BlackRock is launching “Transition Capital,” a new platform operating within Blackrock Alternatives, and focused on investing in opportunities arising from the transition to a low carbon economy, according to an internal memo seen by ESG Today.

The new unit will be led by Dickon Pinner, who joins BlackRock after more than 20 years at global management consulting firm McKinsey.

Pinner most recently served as the global leader for McKinsey’s Sustainability Practice, advising clients across multiple sectors on topics including energy transition, future of mobility, circular economy, sustainability investing & financing, biodiversity, nature, agriculture and land use, carbon markets, offsets, climate risk, resilience & adaptation.

According to the memo, the launch of Transition Capital follows dialogue with clients, and business and government leaders looking to work with BlackRock as they seek sources of capital “to transform their portfolios, businesses, industries, and countries.”

In the memo, Edwin Conway, Global Head of BlackRock Alternative Investors, and Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman of BlackRock, wrote:

“The transition to a low-carbon economy presents historic investment opportunities and challenges for clients – on par with the rise of emerging markets and digitization in recent decades.

“We believe many hundreds of billions, even trillions of dollars per year, will be invested through the transition and we have spent the past several years becoming a global leader in transition investing to ensure our clients have the tools they need to navigate it.”

Transition Capital will source and invest in proprietary transition-focused opportunities across asset classes and geographies, and develop new investment strategies and funds, working with BlackRock’s Sustainable and Transition Solutions, Alternatives Sustainable Investing teams, and the Global Product Group. The unit will also look to deepen the firm’s investment research capabilities, working with Sustainable Investment Research & Analytics group, and engage with clients with its Global Client Business.

The introduction of the new unit marks the latest step for BlackRock in targeting climate-focused investment opportunities. Last year, the firm teamed up with investment company Temasek to launch Decarbonization Partners, a net zero technologies and solutions-focused venture capital and private equity partnership, and earlier this year BlackRock unveiled Climate Infrastructure, a new “perpetual infrastructure strategy,” aimed at pursuing long-term investment opportunities in the megatrend themes of energy transition and energy security.

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