A coalition of investors alerts six major European oil and gas companies to the inadequacies of their climate strategies
A group of 16 international investors, summoned by Ofi Invest Asset Management and representing more than 780 billion euros in assets under management, has issued an open letter, calling on six European oil & gas companies – TotalEnergies, Shell, BP, Eni, Repsol and Equinor – to halt their fossil fuel expansion plans and to boost their investments in sustainable energies. In reaction to these companies’ climate strategies, deemed subpar, these investors announced that they would vote against certain strategic resolutions, including the re-election this year of the board chairmen of TotalEnergies, Shell and BP. This initiative is part of an escalation of the engagement that has been conducted for several years.
In a joint letter, the investors expressed their concerns to six oil & gas companies over their ongoing oil & gas expansion strategies. The letter points out that the companies’ development of new oil & gas projects is incompatible with the objectives of limiting global warming to 1.5°C and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, based on projections by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and research by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The letter also points out that the companies invest very little in sustainable energies in comparison with the needs of the energy transition.
The investor coalition believes that in recent years the six oil & gas companies have made too little progress in climate action and points out that some of them – TotalEnergies, BP and Shell – have even scaled back their climate ambitions.
Accordingly, the investor group asks the six companies to revise their climate strategy in order to align it with a trajectory to limit global warming to 1.5°C. According to the IEA, this will require halting the development of new oil & gas projects and boosting investments in sustainable energies, so that 50% of investment spending is devoted to clean energy projects by 2030.
In their letter, the signatory investors pledge to vote against certain key strategic resolutions at these companies’ 2024 general meetings, for the purpose of stressing the responsibility of their respective boards of directors. They will vote against the re-election of the board chairman or against the re-election of at least one board member, or against discharging the board, depending on the agenda resolutions of each of the companies concerned. These votes demonstrate a determination to use new avenues in the engagement conducted with oil & gas companies.
The letters sent to the six companies can be viewed at: https://www.ofi-invest-am.com/pdf/letters-to-majors_ oil-and-gas_2024.pdf
In the non-exhaustive list of investors mentioned bellow, some of them are only signatories to part of the letters sent to the six oil & gas companies.
About Ofi Invest Asset Management
Ofi Invest Asset Management is a company of Ofi Invest group, which in turn, is a member of Aéma Groupe (Macif, Abeille Assurances and AÉSIO mutuelle).
Ofi Invest Asset Management has 181.2 billion euros in assets at the end of 2023(1) and more than 400 employees, serving institutional and individual investors served by networks and distribution partners, in France and abroad.
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
The information and opinions reflected herein are intended exclusively for use by the press and financial media. This press release contains information and figures that Ofi Invest AM considers to be well-founded or accurate on the day they are drawn up. Unless otherwise stated, the views and opinions expressed in this press release are those of Ofi Invest AM. The companies mentioned are for information purposes only. This is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy any securities. Published on 16/05/2024 by Ofi Invest AM, a portfolio management company (APE 6630Z) incorporated under French law and approved by the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) under authorisation no. GP 92012 - company intra-community VAT number FR51384940342, a French limited company (Société Anonyme) with a Board of Directors and share capital of €71,957,490, headquartered at 22, rue Vernier 75017 Paris, and registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Registry under number 384 940 342.