Vanguard and BlackRock, the world’s two largest asset managers, have been singled out for having the highest exposure to the global coal industry, holding $170bn between them in some of the most notorious polluters.

Research conducted by more than 25 lobby groups and climate activists including Urgewald, Reclaim Finance and Rainforest Action Network, analysed financial flows to 934 companies across the coal sector, such as Glencore and RWE.