BP tells shareholders to vote against climate resolution at AGM
BP has today told its shareholders to vote against a climate resolution at its upcoming AGM that would demand the company bring its decarbonisation plans closer in line with the 2015 Paris agreement.
The oil giant, which has set itself the target of being a net zero firm by 2050, said that the resolution would “set back” the delivery of its existing strategy.
The resolution was tabled by activist investor group Follow This, which has been working with BP on a joint climate resolution.
However, the group’s leader, Mark van Baal, said that the two had failed to come to an agreement because BP’s current strategy will see emissions increase across the next decade.
The firm said that revisiting its “Paris-consistent” strategy would have a “negative impact” on its progress.
“Given BP is in action at pace on the strategy, the board and leadership team believe it is time for the company to focus on execution and delivery, rather than revisit targets and aims, as would be necessitated by the resolution, if passed”, the firm said in its AGM prospectus.
“We firmly believe that such an intervention in the strategy at this stage would set back the delivery of bp’s net zero ambition and investor proposition.”
BP has one of the most ambitious decarbonisation strategies of any oil firm, with plans to reduce oil output by 40 per cent by 2030.
It will also increase its low carbon investment tenfold, to £5bn per year. Recently, it paid almost £900m for leasing rights for two wind farms in the Irish Sea, far above the normal rate.
Despite the plan, van Baal said that today’s decision was a “setback” for his group, which has brought similar resolutions to a number of oil firms.
“Now the ball is in the court of responsible investors. The true test for BP and their shareholders will be on May 12, when the climate resolution comes to vote.
“We expect that backing from investors that insist on Paris-consistent targets for all emissions will continue to gain momentum; in May 2020, an unprecedented number of shareholders voted for climate targets resolutions at the AGMs of Shell, Equinor, and Total.”