Norway Oil Fund Backs Exxon Climate Stress Tests
03 May 2016 - 9:50PM
Dow Jones News
By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland
OSLO--Norway's sovereign-wealth fund will vote in favor of a
shareholder proposal that could force Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and
Chevron Corp. (CVX) to report on the impact of global climate
policies on their business.
"We want to achieve exactly what it says in our expectations
document, namely that the companies report better numbers," Norges
Bank Investment Management Chief Executive Yngve Slyngstad told
reporters at an event in Oslo on Tuesday. The fund backed similar
proposals last year for BP PLC (BP.LN) and Royal Dutch Shell PLC
(RDSA.LN).
The proposal will be put to a vote at the annual general
meetings of Exxon Mobil and Chevron on May 25. If adopted, the
proposals would require the companies to report on the long-term
impact on their business of possible public climate change
policies--up to 2035 for Chevron and up to 2040 for Exxon
Mobil.
"The assessment can be incorporated into existing reporting and
should analyze the impacts on ExxonMobil's oil and gas reserves and
resources under a scenario in which reduction in demand results
from carbon restrictions," said the New York State Common
Retirement Fund in the proposal.
Norway's $868 billion fund holds a $2.54 billion stake in Exxon
and a $1.45 billion holding in Chevron. It tends to flag its voting
intentions ahead of key company decisions, partly for transparency
reasons. Exxon Mobil and Chevron have advised its shareholders not
to support the motion.
Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at
kjetilmalkenes.hovland@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 03, 2016 07:35 ET (11:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024