New York, October 31 (RHC)-- In New York City, about 200 protesters rallied at the headquarters of BlackRock, calling on the investment giant to end its support for fossil fuels and companies driving deforestation. 

BlackRock is one of the world’s largest asset managers, with more than $6.8 trillion in assets worldwide.  It’s also one of the biggest investors in coal and oil. 

Reverend Kevin VanHook of Riverside Church in New York said: “We’re here because we believe that the Earth is not something that we’ve inherited from our past, but rather something that we are borrowing from our future.  We’re here because we believe that our children, and their children, and their children have a right to clean air.  We’re here because we believe that our children, and their children, and their children have a right to clean water.  We’re here because we believe that our children, their children, and their children have a right to a safe planet to call home.  And we who believe in freedom for this planet cannot rest until it comes.”

The protest was held on the seventh anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which blasted New York, New Jersey and parts of New England with a record storm surge as high as 13 feet, killing 159 people and damaging more than 650,000 homes. 

A new study published in the journal Nature Communications warns that up to 300 million homes around the world will be affected by coastal flooding within the next 30 years amid climate-fueled sea level rise.