US Big 2 Oil Refiners' Shareholders Oppose Climate Crisis Response Resolution

ExxonMobil and Chevron Shareholders Reject Carbon Emission Reduction Proposal
Energy Price Increase Influenced by Russia War

Shareholders of the two major U.S. oil companies, ExxonMobil and Chevron, voted against carbon reduction resolutions.

Major foreign media reported that shareholders of ExxonMobil and Chevron firmly opposed 12 agenda items related to climate crisis response at their respective annual general meetings held on the 31st (local time). Among ExxonMobil shareholders, only 11% supported the Paris Agreement-related resolution proposed by several institutional investors and Follow This, a Dutch climate action campaign. At Chevron's annual meeting held the same day, less than 10% of shareholders supported the resolution.

ExxonMobil Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Earlier, Follow This had submitted shareholder resolutions demanding rapid carbon emission reductions from major oil companies such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, in line with the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030. At last year's annual meetings, approximately 28% and 33% of ExxonMobil and Chevron shareholders, respectively, supported the same proposal.

Some shareholders appeared to downplay climate-related measures. Chevron shareholders rejected a resolution to set carbon emission reduction targets at the meeting. However, a majority supported a proposal requiring reporting on the impact of the green energy transition on local community workers. In ExxonMobil's case, 87% opposed a proposal to develop oil spill scenarios focused on certain facilities.

The investment industry views the rise in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a factor influencing shareholders to reject climate-related agendas. Due to the war, crude oil prices surged to $120 per barrel in early June last year, leading to a windfall for the oil industry. However, oil prices have declined this year, and with the push for a green energy transition, oil companies inevitably face performance setbacks.

Chevron [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

After the oil industry refused to take climate crisis measures, the world's largest fund, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, took the strong step of selling stocks. According to CNBC, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund announced at ExxonMobil's annual meeting that starting next year, it will sell shares of companies that fail to properly manage climate change risks. The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund manages $1.4 trillion and is the world's largest fund, investing in 9,000 companies across 70 countries worldwide.

Karin Smith Ienacho, the fund's compliance officer, stated, "We have informed companies in our portfolio that achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 aligns with the fund's long-term interests," and warned, "If a company does not listen to shareholder opinions and fails to change, we will sell its shares."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.