LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Climate shareholder activist group Follow This said it would fight BP's decision not to include its climate resolution in its annual general shareholder meeting invitation
Activist Group Follow This Vows to Fight BP's Climate Resolution Exclusion
BP Faces Legal Challenge Over Climate Resolution at AGM
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Climate shareholder activist group Follow This said it would fight BP's decision not to include its climate resolution in its annual general shareholder meeting invitation.
Details of the Climate Resolution and Investor Support
- Follow This filed the resolution alongside investors who manage about 1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) in assets, including Groupama and the Ethos Foundation, as well as a number of European local pension funds.
Demands for Greater Climate Transparency
- The group demanded BP disclose longer-term strategies under scenarios of declining oil and gas demand, but BP did not include the resolution in its notice of meeting issued last week.
Potential Legal Action by Follow This
- "If BP does not comply within two days, Follow This and investors will pursue injunctive relief in court ordering BP to circulate the resolution to shareholders," Follow This said in a statement.
BP's Response and Rationale
- A BP spokesperson said: “The board determined, having taken legal advice, that the proposed resolution did not conform to legal requirements. Moreover, we have a clear strategy with multi-year targets to drive long-term shareholder value across the cycle and remain fully committed to responsible industry-standard climate related reporting.”
Upcoming AGM and Historical Context
- BP's AGM planned for April 23.
- Follow This started filing climate resolutions at shareholder meetings in 2016 and attracted peak shareholder votes in subsequent years of 80% at Phillips 66 <PSX.N>, 60% at Chevron <CVX.N>, around a third at Exxon <XOM.N> and Shell <SHEL.L> and a fifth at BP.
($1 = 0.8588 euros)
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla)
