RWE, BASF Commit to Review Climate Lobbying After Investor Pressure
May 03 2019 - 6:06AM
Dow Jones News
By Maitane Sardon
RWE AG (RWE.XE) and BASF SE (BAS.XE) on Friday became the latest
European companies to respond to investor pressure regarding
climate change.
German electric utility RWE and chemical maker BASF said at
their respective annual general meetings that they will commit to
undertake a review of their lobbying activities and policy
engagement to make sure they are in line with the Paris Agreement
on climate change.
The commitments made by the companies are the result of investor
engagement led by German money manager Union Investment, which is
part of Climate Action 100+, a group of 320 investors representing
$33 trillion in assets under management.
"The leadership these companies are showing raises the bar for
transparent and accountable lobbying practices. As businesses act
on the issue in growing numbers across Europe, there is a clear
opportunity for lobbying practices to strengthen, rather than
undermine, vital action on climate change," Stephanie Pfeifer, a
member of the Climate Action 100+ global steering committee and CEO
of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, said.
The agreements with RWE and BASF are part of a broader investor
engagement exercise with 55 high-emitting companies focusing
specifically on lobbying practices. The exercise was initiated by
the Church of England pensions board and the Swedish pension fund
AP7.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN), Glencore PLC (GLEN.LN),
Heidelberg Cement AG (HEI.XE) and Equinor ASA (EQNR) have so far
agreed to review their lobbying activities on climate change in
response to engagement by Climate Action 100+ through the
IIGCC.
Shell recently said it will leave the American Fuel &
Petrochemical Manufacturers U.S. trade body as a consequence of
such pressure.
Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 03, 2019 05:51 ET (09:51 GMT)
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