Resolution, requesting emissions cut by 2030, is similar to those at Shell, BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron
Seventeen leading investors with assets under management of around € 1.1 trillion* and activist shareholder group Follow This file a climate resolution for the AGM of TotalEnergies on May 26. The resolution (attached) asks the oil major to align its 2030 Scope 3 emissions reduction targets with the Paris Climate Agreement. The resolution is similar to those filed for the 2023 AGMs of Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, and Chevron.
TotalEnergies
“This major commitment from seventeen of the world’s most important investors takes the fight against climate breakdown to a new level,” says Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This. “We thank this large coalition of investors for their determination to tackle the climate crisis.”
“To achieve the goal of Paris, the world has to almost halve emissions by 2030, but TotalEnergies has no plan to drive down emissions this decade. Therefore, we expect that long-term and climate-conscious investors will exercise the only power they have as shareholders: the power of the vote.”
Five supermajors
“Investors who are committed to addressing the climate crisis will vote for all five climate resolutions at these five supermajors because all five companies are determined to extract fossil fuels for as long as possible.”
Who’s serious?
“These climate resolutions at Big Oil will show which investors are serious about resolving the climate crisis and which prefer to just talk about it.”
Engagement
“Responsible investors, also those who have relied on engagement without voting in the past, are fully aware that if votes for climate resolutions do not regain momentum, another year will be lost in which the companies continue to hide behind votes against Paris-alignment.”
* The seventeen institutional investors from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, and the US have € 1.1 trillion assets under management. The consortium consists of Achmea IM, a.s.r. AM, Degroof Petercam AM, Edmond de Rothschild AM, La Banque Postale AM & Tocqueville Finance, La Financière de l’Echiquier, Mandarine Gestion, Man Group, Messieurs Hottinguer & Cie Gestion Privée, MN, Ofi Invest AM, PGGM Investments, Sycomore AM, ERAFP and four other investors that will later make public announcements.
Statement institutional investors
In a statement, the group of investors writes: “As institutional investors, we want to safeguard long-term returns for our beneficiaries. Therefore, we encourage portfolio companies to decarbonize and contribute to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. Oil majors like TotalEnergies have the scale, capital, and knowledge to help the world transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources. Unfortunately, we believe that TotalEnergies has not made sufficient progress in supporting this transition.”
“Based on its plans to ramp up gas production, we expect TotalEnergies to become the largest European hydrocarbon producer by 2030. This is not reconcilable with a Paris-aligned emission reduction pathway,” says Bertille Knuckey, Fund Manager at Sycomore AM, “Investors need to vote to voice their opinion on this strategy.”
“Although the world has to almost halve emissions by 2030 to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, TotalEnergies refuses to significantly drive down scope 3 emissions this decade,” says Colin Tissen, Advisor Responsible Investment at PGGM Investments, “We encourage the company to fully embrace its transition towards a low-carbon energy provider, helping its customers reduce their carbon footprint.”
Consultative resolution
In 2022, TotalEnergies’ board of directors refused to put a similar but binding shareholder resolution to a vote. Given this refusal, we decided to file a consultative resolution this year; a consultative resolution does not impose anything on the company or its board of directors, but instead allows investors to express their desire that the company aligns its 2030 Scope 3 targets with the goal of the Paris Accord.
Follow This is a group of green shareholders in Big Oil. Our mission is to empower shareholders to compel Big Oil to drive down emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Thanks to the votes of institutional investors in favour of the Follow This Climate Resolutions, Shell, Equinor, BP, Phillips66, and Chevron promised to cut product emissions (Scope 3). Now, together with these supporting investors, we must compel Big Oil to cut emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
In 2023, the Follow This Climate Resolutions support oil and gas companies to set Paris-aligned reduction targets for Scope 3 (product) emissions in 2030.
Our vision is a financial culture in which investors use their shareholders’ rights to support the long-term interest of companies, the global economy, and the planet.
Read “Follow This leads investor rebellions […] to tackle global heating” (The Guardian), Activist group Follow This launches climate campaign against Big Oil (Financial Times) or watch an interview on CNN here.
