The New York State Common Retirement Fund has warned that oil and gas companies which do not have viable plans to transition to a low carbon economy may face divestment.
The $272-billion fund is evaluating 28 publicly traded integrated oil and gas companies to determine their readiness for such a net-zero transition and asks them to “provide information” on their “readiness to transition to the emerging net-zero economy.”
The focus list includes market leaders such as BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and Topaz Energy.
“While energy companies are currently making record profits driven by high prices, their long-term prospects are far less certain. As investors, we will carefully review these companies and may restrict investments in those that do not have viable plans to adapt,” warned New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The clamp-down comes as part of the fund’s target to reach net-zero emissions by 2040. The fund’s prior reviews of shale oil and gas, oil sands, and coal companies led to divestment from 55 firms determined to have failed to demonstrate transition readiness.
In the last year alone, 21 companies faced restricted investment or divestment under the Comptroller’s initiative.
Energy companies continue to face sustained pressure from investors to decarbonize, despite shareholder proposals concerning emissions facing declining support this season.
So far this year, 63 environmental shareholder proposals have been subject to a vote at U.S.-listed companies, winning 33.7% average support, compared to 33.4% and 44.3% throughout 2020 and 2021, according to Insightia’s Voting module.