Analysis by Maxine Joselow
with research by Vanessa Montalbano
The Washington Post
Nearly two-thirds of investors in ExxonMobil and Chevron on Wednesday rejected proposals for the oil giants to align their climate strategies with the Paris agreement.
The votes were yet another sign that climate activist investors are having a less successful proxy season this year than in 2021, as fossil fuel firms reap record profits fueled by the war in Ukraine.
The details: Both oil majors held their annual shareholder meetings on Wednesday. At ExxonMobil's meeting, around 28 percent of investors voted in favor of a proposal from the Dutch climate activist group Follow This, while roughly 33 percent of Chevron's investors backed the resolution.
The proposal calls on the companies to set medium- and long-term targets for aligning their emissions trajectories with the Paris agreement. While ExxonMobil and Chevron have both set goals of reaching net-zero operational emissions by 2050, critics such as Follow This argue that these plans are not Paris-compliant.
Mark van Baal, the founder of Follow This, told The Climate 202 that he was grateful for the support from nearly one-third of investors, which he said represents a small but significant minority.
“It's still a shareholder rebellion,” van Baal said. “And the only thing we can do now is work with these investors to convince the rest.”
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods urged investors to reject Follow This's resolution at the meeting, saying it would curtail energy supplies at the height of the supply crunch related to the war in Ukraine.
“We do not believe it's in the best interest of our shareholders or society for ExxonMobil to reduce the supply of critical products needed by society, which is the intent of your proposal,” Woods said.
At shareholder meetings earlier this month, investors in BP, ConocoPhillips and Equinor also beat back climate proposals. So far, the 2022 proxy season has struck a sharp contrast with last year, when the small activist hedge fund Engine No. 1 shocked the world by winning three seats on ExxonMobil's board.
***Activists notch smaller wins
About 52 percent of ExxonMobil shareholders did approve, however, a resolution calling on the company to issue an audited report assessing the impact of a net-zero emissions world on its financial statements.***
The shareholder proxy advisory services Glass Lewis and ISS recommended voting for the motion, which was spearheaded by Christian Brothers Investment Services, an investment management firm that works with Catholic individuals and institutions.