VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow writes on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation about the Labor Department’s review of ERISA fiduciaries and ESG under the Executive Order issued last month by President Trump. She wrote: ERISA, the 1974 law that governs pension funds, recognizes that the third parties who manage…
Tag: climate change
Dr Raj Thamotheram Calls on Investors to Take the Lead on Climate Change
Dr Raj Thamotheram compares the essential urgency of investor engagement on climate change to the first major social movement, the campaign to abolish slavery. And he says the crucial moment this proxy season is the ExxonMobil annual meeting. So why is ExxonMobil set to be the litmus test for climate aware investors in 2019? ●…
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Cost U.S. More than Defense Budget: IMF Report – Rolling Stone
Investors should monitor this closely as the prospect of any reduction or even elimination of these subsidies will have a critical impact not just on fossil fuel companies but throughout the economy. It is important for investors to make sure corporate boards are considering these risks — and opportunities — in their strategic planning. The…
Fossil Fuel Subsidies Cost U.S. More than Defense Budget: IMF Report – Rolling Stone
It is vital for investors to be aware of these subsidies, which distort traditional reporting of risk and return. The United States has spent more subsidizing fossil fuels in recent years than it has on defense spending, according to a new report from the International Monetary Fund. The IMF found that direct and indirect subsidies…
Despite SEC Action, Shareholders Push ExxonMobil for Progress on Climate Change
They can run, but they can’t hide. Efforts by ExxonMobil to squelch shareholder initiatives on climate change have led to escalation, including a high-visibility call to withhold votes for the nominees for the company’s board. Directors at Exxon Mobil Corp. are facing a withhold campaign from two institutional shareholders alleging the energy company has failed…
Climate change has U.S. fund managers adjusting agriculture investments – Reuters
After historic floods devastated Midwestern agricultural states this spring, some fund managers are evaluating how climate change will affect the long-term value of companies that make or sell products ranging from tractors to fertilizer. The issue is not simply the unpredictability of weather. Instead, fund managers say, they are struggling to model how extreme weather…
ISS Endorses Shareholder Challenge to Dominion Energy
Majority Action is calling on Dominion Energy to appoint an independent board chair because “the board’s composition and the qualifications and outside connections of board members in key leadership positions call into question whether the board is well-positioned to provide independent oversight.” Proxy advisory firm ISS has recommended a vote in favor of the resolution….
SEC throws out investor proposal pushing Exxon Mobil to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
The Securities and Exchange Commission has allowed Exxon Mobil to block a shareholder proposal requiring the oil giant to set targets to substantially reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal called for the company to disclose greenhouse gas targets aligned with the 2015 Paris climate agreement effort to keep average global temperature increases to well…
Climate Change Disclosures–More and Better
For more than 20 years, large companies have been ramping up the depth and breadth of their disclosure on GHG emissions. At the same time, the amount of forward-looking financial information on climate risks and the opportunities being provided to investors has been patchy at best. But in the short time since July 2017, following…
Most oil giants still fighting shareholder pressure to address climate
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted in this article about the disconnect between what fossil fuel companies tell their investors and customers they believe on climate change and what they actually do. The world’s largest oil companies, including Exxon, Shell, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and BP, are responding to that pressure in varying degrees. Some are…
