BP Board Supports Proposed Vote on Climate-Change Shareholder Resolution
February 01 2019 - 4:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Dieter Holger
--BP's board supports a vote on a proposed shareholder
resolution requiring disclosure of more metrics on climate
change
--Shareholders are expected to vote at the company's next annual
general meeting, in mid-May
BP PLC's (BP.LN) board supports a proposed vote on a shareholder
resolution that would require the company to disclose metrics on
its efforts to combat climate change, the company said Friday.
This follows pressure from a coalition of more than 300
investors managing $32 trillion in assets.
If the resolution is approved, BP would disclose how it
evaluates the impact of its investments in oil-and-gas exploration,
acquisition and development on the climate; its anticipated levels
of investment in oil, gas and other energy sources; the estimated
carbon intensity of its energy products; and its targets to reduce
its greenhouse gas emissions.
The company's climate strategy and metrics would appear in an
annual report, with the first due out early 2020, the company
said.
"We believe our strategy is consistent with the Paris goals," BP
chairman Helge Lund said. "The additional reporting specified in
the resolution will build on BP's history of progressive action in
this area."
The proposal is part of a growing trend among investors to
demand more action and disclosure on climate goals from energy
companies. Investors, in partnership with investor group Climate
Action 100+, persuaded Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) to agree
late last year to halve its carbon footprint by 2050.
It isn't currently possible to determine if BP's energy projects
are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement of keeping global
warming below 2 degrees Celcius, the investors said in a statement
in support of the resolution.
"This limits investors' ability to appraise the attractiveness
of the company as an investment proposition," the investors
said.
BP shareholders are expected to vote on the resolution at the
next annual general meeting, in mid-May, the company said.
Negotiations between BP and the investors on the resolution
began in the fourth quarter of 2018, the company said.
In 2018, BP was embroiled in an environmental disaster after the
Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, which spilled
around 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and led to
a settlement of $20.8 billion.
Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 01, 2019 04:14 ET (09:14 GMT)
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