Exxon Shareholders Vote to Disclose Climate Risks

The landmark investor vote defied Exxon's management.  It requires the oil giant to begin reporting climate-related risks to its business.

As news spread that President Donald Trump reportedly plans to remove the U.S. from the historic Paris Agreement on climate change, ExxonMobil shareholders voted in favor of a proposal calling on the company to disclose the risks that climate change policies pose to its business. 

The measure, which Exxon urged investors to vote against, passed with 62.3 percent of the vote. 

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York Common Retirement Fund, said in a statement that the vote was “an unprecedented victory for investors in the fight to ensure a smooth transition to a low carbon economy.”  The fund holds nearly $1 billion in Exxon shares. 

“Climate change is one of the greatest long-term risks we face in our portfolio and has direct impact on the core business of ExxonMobil,” DiNapoli said.  “The burden is now on ExxonMobil to respond swiftly and demonstrate that it takes shareholder concerns about climate risk seriously.”

Read more at Exxon Shareholders Approve Climate Resolution:  62% Vote for Disclosure