- Record 27 Institutional Investors Co-file Climate Resolution at Shell
- ExxonMobil Sues Shareholders to Block Climate Proposal
This briefing will provide you with an update on two significant developments from January.
First, a record 27 institutional investors with €3.9 trillion in assets under management filed a climate resolution at Shell, supporting the oil major to align its medium-term Scope 3 emissions reduction targets with the Paris Climate Agreement. We thank these investors (names below) for their leadership.
Second, ExxonMobil has sued Arjuna Capital and Follow This to block a different climate proposal we filed. Given Exxon’s preference to fight a battle in court rather than allow shareholders the freedom of a vote at its annual meeting, we withdrew the climate proposal. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are unable to comment further at this time; we will update you as soon as this is appropriate.
Climate resolution at Shell
In order to focus on the climate resolution at Shell, we decided not to file climate targets resolutions at BP and TotalEnergies for the 2024 AGM season. Further, in January we withdrew a climate proposal at Chevron that we had co-filed, in light of the pending litigation. Consequently, the only climate targets resolution on the ballot at an oil major in 2024 is at Shell.
We hope you will follow the leadership of your 27 peers by predeclaring your vote in favor of this climate resolution at Shell’s AGM on 21 May. This climate resolution will be investors’ only opportunity to vote for Paris-aligned emissions reduction targets at an oil major in 2024, and will send a clear signal to the entire oil and gas industry.
Investors sound alarm
We thank institutional investors for their support over the last weeks, both privately and publicly, for example under the headline Investors sound alarm over shareholder rights in the Financial Times. Responsible investors see that Exxon’s legal action amounts to tactics of intimidation and bullying to silence their fair ask to tackle the climate crisis while safeguarding the long-term future of energy companies.
We look forward to continuing our joint fight against the climate crisis.
Co-filing investors at Shell
The group of 27 co-filing investors from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the UK, the USA, Sweden, and Switzerland consists of (Assets Under Management (AUM) between brackets):
- Amundi (€1,973 billion)
- Scottish Widows (€200 billion)
- Candriam (€140 billion)
- Rathbones Group (€100 billion)
- Groupama AM (€95 billion)
- Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management (EDRAM) (€71 billion)
- Degroof Petercam Asset Management (DPAM) (€51 billion)
- Brunel Pension Partnership (€44 billion)
- AP3 (€44 billion)
- AP4 (€43 billion)
- NEST (€40 billion)
- Pension Protection Fund (€38 billion)
- Greater Manchester Pension Fund (€37 billion)
- London CIV (€16 billion)
- Pro BTP Finance (€13 billion)
- Mandarine Gestion (€4 billion)
- Ethos Foundation (€4 billion assets under advice)
- Emmi-Vorsorgestiftung (€1 billion)
- Ethos Foundation also represents five of its pension fund members.
- Four more investors may make public announcements later.
Climate resolution at Shell 2024
‘Shareholders support the Company, by an advisory vote, to align its medium-term emissions reduction targets covering the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the use of its energy products (Scope 3) with the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement: to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
The strategy for achieving these targets is entirely up to the board.
You have our support.’
Press release: Record 27 institutional investors co-file climate resolution at Shell
Withdrawn climate proposal at ExxonMobil 2024
‘Resolved: Shareholders support the Company, by an advisory vote, to go beyond current plans, further accelerating the pace of emission reductions in the medium-term for its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3, and to summarize new plans, targets, and timetables.’
