The largest European investors — Amundi, Allianz and UBS — backed climate resolutions for Big Oil companies while their U.S. counterparts and U.K.'s Legal & General went the other way, according to a proxy season analysis by Dutch activist group Follow This released Nov. 6.
A chart on the group's website shows how major shareholders voted for the Follow This climate resolution at five 'super-majors': Shell, BP, Exxon, TotalEnergies and Chevron.
The resolution called for the companies to set targets for reducing Scope 3 emissions in alignment with Paris Agreement goals. The oil giants' Scope 3 emissions account for as much as 90% of their emissions, according to Follow This. The resolution does not specify how the companies should address the resolution.
While the European asset managers use their voting power to mitigate the climate crisis, "most of their peers enable oil majors to continue to cause climate breakdown by voting against climate resolutions." Follow This founder Mark van Baal said in the release.
"These European asset managers vote with their long-term financial interests in mind. These investors are determined to reach Paris because they foresee they will be unable to make a reasonable return on capital if the climate crisis worsens," van Baal said.
"U.S. and U.K. investors apparently believe they must choose between profits and climate, but this is a false dilemma construed by the oil and gas industry. The current windfall profits of oil and gas should be used to invest in new sustainable business models instead of more fossil fuels."
