US oil majors reject climate change proposals


Briefly: Shareholders of ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two largest US oil companies, rejected climate-focussed resolutions at their annual meetings on Wednesday (31 May).

And the votes weren’t even close. Around 10% of both ExxonMobil and Chevron shareholders supported proposals to align emissions targets with the 2015 Paris Agreement. Only one of the dozen proposals at Exxon (on reporting its methane emissions) received more than 20% support.

And momentum seems to be slipping: last year, 28% and 33% of Exxon and Chevron shareholders (respectively) supported Paris-alignment proposals.

Intrigue’s take: Remember what investing was like in 2020/2021? Meme stocks, crypto, animatronic apes… it was wild. But elsewhere, another approach was booming: environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.

This latest news out of Chevron and Exxon suggests maybe ESG momentum is fading. And yet, we only just wrote about how solar investment will surpass oil investment this year for the first time. So… what’s happening?

Capital is peering into the future: some (like solar investors) see a green future just around the corner; others (like oil and gas shareholders) think it’s still a way off. And either way, their decisions today will shape the future we get.

Also worth noting:

  • A shareholder activist group behind this week’s proposals, Follow Thissaid it was “incomprehensible that most investors still accept the US super majors’ refusal to cut emissions this decade.”
  • Support for climate-focussed proposals among European shareholders has been marginally higher: in recent weeks, around 20% of Shell and BP shareholders voted to accelerate transition plans.
Latest Author Articles
The Israel-Hamas ceasefire wobbles

It’s been three weeks since Israel and Hamas signed a deal that put a tentative end to their ~16 months of devastating conflict.  The pact ramped up the flow of aid into the strip and enabled the return of an initial 16 Israeli hostages held by Hamas and more than 730 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. […]

14 February, 2025
Did the US just ditch Ukraine?

As world leaders, chief diplomats, and defence leaders alike board their private jets to Munich today, just know that their teams are re-writing every briefing note and messaging strategy in the wake of Washington’s mic drop only hours ago.  Here’s what happened.  Speaking first from Brussels at the UK-chaired Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, the […]

13 February, 2025
Canada’s Trudeau resigns as PM, to stay on until new leader chosen

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resigned as Liberal Party leader and will end his term as PM as soon as an internal party successor has been named, Trudeau told the press at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday morning.  Trudeau’s resignation ends his nine-year term in power, marked by an open-revolt ending with numerous […]

6 January, 2025
Biden blocks Nippon Steel deal

With less than two weeks in US President Joe Biden’s term, the outgoing president blocked Japan’s Nippon Steel’s proposed $14.9B purchase of US Steel, citing national security and supply chain concerns.

3 January, 2025