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Exxon Takes Heat For Not Addressing Global Warming

Posted by: Irvin Dawid
Thanks to: Darrell Waller
22 May 2006 - 10:00am

The world's largest oil company takes heat from major state government pension fund investors for not owning up to an obligation to address global warming.

"The coalition of 17 institutional investors, which includes California Treasurer Phil Angelides and Controller Steve Westly, (both gubernatorial candidates in June's Democratic primary)demanded a meeting with independent directors at Exxon Mobil to explain the company's strategy on climate change, including future investments in alternative energy.

'Companies such BP and Shell have been stepping up. Exxon Mobil has not,' Karen Greene Ross, California deputy controller for investments, said during a telephone news conference. The six other states whose pension fund trustees are participating are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont.

In March, a report by Ceres, a coalition of investor, environmental and public interest groups, ranked Exxon Mobil as tied for eighth place among 20 major oil companies for their corporate governance practices on climate change."

Full Story: Oil giant pressed on global warming
Source: The Sacramento Bee, May 19, 2006
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The "Heat" is On

Submitted by Robert Cote on Mon, 05/22/2006 - 09:29.

Congrats for the cleverest double entendre title in a long time.

As a skeptic of anthropomorphic global warming I still find these kinds of shareholder actions perfectly acceptable. Holding corporations accountable to investors is part of public ownership. If CALPERS deems it appropriate to hold XOM to the fire for global warming I pay attention. These are the people that divested most of their overt real estate exposure over the last 18 months. There are legitimate business reasons for companies to respond to AGW regardless of whether AGW actually exists. What I don't see is any connection twixt AGW and urban planning practices. Are CALPERS investment strategies material to planning?

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