Follow This, a group of climate activist shareholders, pauses the big oil campaign

Follow This, a climate activist shareholder group, said that a lack in investor interest has forced them to suspend their campaign to get major oil and gas companies to commit to reducing emissions. The campaign had been going on for nearly ten years.

In 2016, the Dutch group began submitting climate resolutions to shareholder meetings. By 2017, it had achieved shareholder support of 80% for Phillips 66 and 60% for Chevron. The surge in oil prices caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and lower than expected returns on investments in renewables have led shareholders to focus their attention back on oil and natural gas. BP, Shell, and Equinor have all rolled back energy transition plans in the past few months.

Mark van Baal, the founder of Follow This, said that institutional investors were reluctant to exercise their voting rights. Exxon sued Follow This last year after they submitted a climate-related solution. The judge dismissed the case only after the defendants retracted their resolution, and agreed not to submit another similar one.

Van Baal stated that "Follow this talks with supportive investors to reassess strategies and address these barriers. We explore what is stopping other investors...from casting their votes despite their declared commitments."

(source: Reuters)