By Isla Binnie
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Officers from 19 Republican U.S. states urged main cash managers on Thursday to not vote towards ExxonMobil (NYSE:)’s administrators at a gathering subsequent week the place some shareholders plan to voice their opposition to a lawsuit launched by the oil firm towards local weather activists.
The group, together with Florida Chief Monetary Officer Jimmy Patronis and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, mentioned in a letter to corporations together with BlackRock (NYSE:), Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan that Exxon’s board “deserve our thanks and support… for seeking to rein in activist shareholders”.
Exxon’s pursuit of the case towards Arjuna Capital and Observe This over a proposal the corporate push for stricter local weather targets, even after the investor teams withdrew it, has break up opinion amongst shareholders and state officers.
A bunch of Democratic officers requested a few of the similar asset managers to vote towards the board earlier this week, saying the go well with would undermine shareholder rights. Norway’s $1.6 trillion sovereign wealth fund mentioned on Friday it could vote towards the reappointment of Exxon director Joseph Hooley.
Not all signatories to Thursday’s letter have direct management over voting at corporations the place state pensions are invested, however their taking a place marks a change from a earlier shareholder battle at Exxon, during which Democratic state pension funds sided with a climate-focused hedge fund.
They didn’t explicitly name for a vote in favour of the board on the Might 29 assembly.
“These activists have been flooding corporate proxy statements with politically motivated proposals thinly veiled as business risk mitigation measures,” the letter mentioned.
BlackRock didn’t reply to a request for remark. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to remark. Exxon, Arjuna Capital and Observe This didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
The Republican officers took explicit problem with Arjuna and Observe This asking Exxon to cut back greenhouse fuel emissions from its suppliers and end-users, generally known as Scope 3.
“The only way that Exxon can eliminate Scope 3 emissions is to shut down its operations, cap its wells, shutter its windows, and fire its employees,” the letter mentioned.