A group of six institutional investors managing a combined 1.3 trillion euros has co-filed shareholder proposals pushing four oil and gas giants to adopt medium-term Scope 3 emissions reduction targets.
In a February 28 letter to investors, climate advocate Follow This revealed that the proposals target Shell, BP, Chevron, and ExxonMobil demanding the oil majors set the absolute 2030 emission reduction targets.
The campaign is backed by Dutch fund manager Degroof Petercam Asset Management which co-filed all four proposals, while Achmea Investment Management co-filed the ExxonMobil proposal and Arjuna Capital co-filed proposals set to face Chevron and ExxonMobil.
“Oil majors feel secure in shareholders’ support for negligible emission cuts given that the majority of their shareholders voted against Paris-aligned targets in 2022,” Follow This stated. “We remain convinced that oil majors will only… cut emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement when they have secured unequivocal support from their shareholders.”
The climate advocate restated the urgency of “large-scale emissions reductions by 2030,” and criticized the oil & gas industry for not planning to “drive down emissions this decade.”
It also pointed to BP’s announcement earlier this month that it was backtracking on its aim to reduce Scope 3 emissions from its own oil and gas production by reducing the target from 35-40% to 20-30% by 2030.