Page 12 - EurOil Week 22 2021

EurOil ENERGY TRANSITION EurOil

Oil giants face setbacks

from climate activists

GLOBAL MAJOR oil companies have received sharp as CalPERS, America’s largest pension fund, as
rebukes over their handling of climate change in well as the New York State Common Retirement
Shell, Chevron and a startling week for the oil industry. Fund and the California State Teachers’ Retire-
ExxonMobil have A small and new hedge fund helped propel ment System (CalSTRS). Blackrock, the world’s
all come under a move to replace at least two of ExxonMobil largest asset manager and Exxon’s second-largest
pressure from activist Corp’s 12 board members with activist share- shareholder, also joined the move.
shareholders. holders to guide the company towards lowering “It’s a historic vote that represents a tipping
its carbon emissions and transitioning to cleaner point for companies that are unprepared for the
energy. Exxon’s voting results were preliminary, global energy transition,” said Aeisha Mastagni, a
and a third or even a fourth seat may have been portfolio manager at CalSTRS, afterwards.
captured by climate activists. The move was vehemently opposed by Exx-
Meanwhile, that same day shareholders onMobil, which says it is responding appropri-
voted to tell rival Chevron to slash emissions, ately to the climate crisis.
even those produced by customers who utilise “The events of today show definitively that
its petrol. many leaders in the oil and gas industry have a
These came as a court in the Netherlands tin ear and do not understand that society’s views
ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emis- and the legal and political environment in which
sions sharply, by a net of 45% by 2030 compared they operate are changing radically,” Amy Myers
with 2019 levels – that is, within just nine years, Jaffe, of Tufts University’s Fletcher School and
a short period in terms of planning for a major who has advised energy companies, told the Wall
corporation. Shell says it will appeal, a process Street Journal after the Exxon vote.
that may take years. For Chevron, 61% of shareholders, led by the
For Exxon, the hedge fund that captured at Dutch campaign group Follow This, voted to ask
least two seats was Engine No 1, backed by huge Chevron to cut emissions including – impor-
institutional investors including California tantly – Scope 3 emissions, those of its custom-
Public Employees’ Retirement System, known ers. ™

P12 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 22 03•June•2021