CalPERS, Other Investors Push Exxon, Chevron to Disclose Climate Risks

A group of large investors, including CalPERS and the New York Common Retirement Fund, are calling on major energy companies to disclose the risks of climate change on their finances.

More from the LA Times:

Shareholders of Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp. and seven other energy companies will soon gather for annual meetings where votes will be cast on climate risk disclosure. The proposals ask the companies to evaluate and disclose the potential financial fallout of recent international commitments to hold the planet’s rise in average temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius.

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CalPERS and 31 investors, including New York City’s pension funds and BNP Paribas Investment Partners, want to know how much of the companies’ petroleum reserves must stay in the ground to meet greenhouse gas emission limits.

“The world is a different place, and you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Anne Simpson, a CalPERS investment director.

Since 1990, Exxon Mobil’s executives have repeatedly opposed similar campaigns by activist shareholders. But with heightened interest following the Paris agreement, this year’s vote could reveal a shift in investors’ mood, analysts said.

“This is part of a broader call by investors for disclosure on how companies are going to adapt to a 2-degree future,” said Shanna Cleveland, a senior manager at Ceres, a nonprofit working with business people on climate issues. “CalPERS has really stepped in to play a leadership role … working to get the message out to other major shareholders.”

CalPERS, for its part, owns more than $1 billion in Exxon shares and $800 million in Chevron shares.

Photo by  rocor via Flickr CC License