ExxonMobil Decries "Abuse" By Activist Shareholders; Instead Of Appealing To SEC, Will Sue Over Climate Proposal

The US oil company ExxonMobil has filed a lawsuit to block a vote on a climate resolution brought by a green activist, in move that will be closely watched by fossil fuel companies worldwide. The company hopes to stop investors voting on a motion put forward by Follow This, a Dutch green activist investor group, which called for Exxon to accelerate its attempts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The company filed the lawsuit at a US district court in Texas on Sunday, arguing that the proposal violates SEC investor petition rules. It asked the court to make a decision by 19 March, before its annual meeting on 29 May. The move will be closely watched by other oil and gas companies and green groups, as environmental campaigners attempt to hold the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies to account for their emissions.

Follow This, which put the motion forward with the investment adviser Arjuna Capital, have registered motions at a series of oil companies’ annual general meetings for years, in a campaign to tighten their commitments to reducing their emissions.

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In 2021, an activist hedge fund, Engine No 1, won three seats on Exxon’s board at its annual meeting after demanding it reduced its emissions more quickly. An Exxon spokesperson said: “The breakdown of the shareholder proposal process, one that allows proponents to advance their agendas through a flood of proposals, does not serve the interests of investors. “We are simply asking the court to apply the SEC’s proxy rules as written to stop this abuse and eliminate the significant resources required to address them.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/22/us-oil-company-exxonmobil-investors-climate-follow-this