The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative relaunched on Wednesday with more than 250 members after a year-long suspension, but fewer U.S. companies signed up. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says criticism from some Republican politicians that membership could breach antitrust rules had prompted the world's biggest investor, BlackRock, to leave NZAM in January last year, after which the group suspended all activity. The group performed a six-month review before releasing a new "commitment statement" without an explicit requirement for members to align their investment portfolios with net-zero by 2050 or set a 2030 target. In the months after BlackRock's exit, a further 32 U.S. companies also left, including heavyweights Capital Group, JPMorgan Asset Management and Franklin Templeton. Despite the new rules, only 12 U.S. companies rejoined, compared with 44 U.S. members at the time of the suspension. Others, such as State Street Investment Management and Wellington Management, signed up only for their European businesses. "We understand the environment we're operating in and are pragmatic about the challenges," said a spokesperson for NZAM.