LINCOLN- Major institutional investors have artificially lowered coal production and raised energy costs for consumers in an effort to lower global carbon emissions, a federal lawsuit claims. Republican attorneys general in 11 states, including Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, filed a joint lawsuit last month against BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, claiming the organizations’ efforts to pressure coal companies to lower carbon emissions and respond to climate change amount to anti-competitive business practices.

All three companies, the lawsuit says, have acquired significant shares in the largest publicly traded coal companies to coerce their management. BlackRock is the world’s largest financial asset manager. The case was in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of the states of Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

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