Follow This to pause climate resolutions
The Guardian | Dutch group Follow This says it will not file any resolutions against oil and gas companies this AGM season. The green shareholder activist group has decided to “pause” its work pushing oil companies to reduce their emissions amid a growing investor backlash against climate action.
The Netherlands-based group, which has been one of the most successful shareholder activists of recent years, blamed “the changing political landscape” and “the backlash against climate-conscious investors” for the decision by “most institutional shareholders” to pull their support for climate resolutions.
The group pointed to a number of US states which have taken legal action against big investors for supporting climate action, and the recent decision of US regulators to drop climate investment disclosure rules as key factors behind the trend.
Follow This was taken to court by ExxonMobil last year for its role in calling for the company to reduce its emissions in line with global climate targets, before a judge threw the case out.
Mark van Baal, the founder of Follow This, said: “Shareholder resolutions have been critical in compelling five oil majors to set emissions-reduction targets, but most institutional investors are reluctant to use their voting power.”
He said that the group’s mission would remain unchanged, and it would continue to engage with investors to understand why they do not use their shareholder rights to demand change from the companies they invest in.
Van Baal said: “Together with supporting investors, we must convince all responsible investors that they have an unambiguous financial imperative to act.
“Big oil can make or break the Paris climate agreement. Their shareholders have only one formal power: the power of the vote. It’s time for more investors to exercise their vote.”
