A solid 8.8 percent of ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) shareholders — representing an estimated 475 million shares totalling $21 billion — voted in favor of a proxy resolution urging the world's largest oil company to stop ignoring the risks of global warming. The resolution sponsored by Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. (CBIS) called on the company to provide the data to justify its failure to protect shareholder interests against the risks posed by climate change. In recent years, two global-warming resolutions attracted high levels of support among ExxonMobil shareholders. The company challenged the resolutions which were killed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, the only proxy question to survive was a new resolution sponsored by Christian Brothers Investment Services.
The initial 8.8 percent support level for the first-strong resolution is considered strong in that SEC rules require a vote of only 3 percent for a first-year resolution to be re-introduced in a second year.
CBIS Director of Socially Responsible Investing John Wilson said: "This resolution invites ExxonMobil to defend its public position on climate change. We are disappointed that the company has so far refused to do so. Our new resolution takes a fresh approach to the problem at Exxon Mobil. We hope to educate shareholders about our concern that the company distorting and otherwise ignoring the clear scientific consensus on global warming. We are gratified at the vote this year and expect a growing level of support in years to come."
State of Maine Treasurer Dale McCormick, who supported the CBIS resolution, said: "As the State Treasurer, I am responsible to the citizens of Maine to safeguard the value of our portfolios. To do that I must determine under what circumstances and to what degree will our portfolio be affected by Climate Risk. Maine voted its three million shares in favor of the resolution because as a fiduciary, I need the managers of ExxonMobil to disclose how it will be affected by climate risk."
Peter Altman, coordinator of Campaign ExxonMobil, said: "For ExxonMobil, it is already the 'Day After Tomorrow' when it comes to global warming. This company already is putting shareholders at risk by refusing to acknowledge global warming. It has no real strategy to deal with the complex set of competitive, legal, regulatory and other issues that other oil companies already are well on the way to addressing. By refusing to come to grips with climate change, ExxonMobil is setting itself up in the long term for going from first to worst in its category. Responsible shareholders cannot just sit back and let that happen."
The CBIS resolution urges ExxonMobil to release data that:
(1) describes the basis for company claims about "gaps in climate science;"
(2) contrasts the estimated costs of mitigating climate change to the costs of failing to do so;
(3) explains the specific differences between the company's position and that of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the international body of experts charged with climate change research; and
(4) outlines all relevant peer-reviewed research data leading to the company's minority viewpoint on climate-change science.
BACKGROUND
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the international body of experts charged with climate change research, stated in its 2001 Third Assessment Report: "There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activity … Human influences will continue to change atmospheric composition throughout the 21st century." The study describes climate impacts, such as higher global temperatures and increased precipitation, as "very likely." The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) concurs: "The degree of confidence in the IPCC assessment is higher today than it was 10, or even five years ago … there is general agreement that the observed warming is real and particularly strong within the past 20 years."
However, ExxonMobil has funded scientific studies and made public statements regarding the science of climate change that appear to conflict with these conclusions. According to the June 2002 edition of ExxonMobil Perspectives: "There continue to be substantial and well-documented gaps in climate science. These gaps limit scientists' ability to assess the extent of any human influence on climate …" A report released by the company in early 2004 continued to "greenwash" climate-change science in the same manner. Contrary to other industry and independent estimates, the ExxonMobil report projected an increasing role for fossil fuel and only minimal demand for clean, renewable energy over at least the next 30 years.
A worldwide movement towards greater regulation to mitigate climate change has resulted from IPCC reports. Consistent with its own position, ExxonMobil opposes most such regulation. Yet, it has not released primary research or an analysis of data supporting its conclusions. The lack of such information prevents shareholders, policymakers, and the public from being able to make decisions based on the facts the company claims to have. The company also has potentially put shareholders at risk by failing to develop competitive strategies to deal with the risks posed by global warming itself and related legislation, regulation and litigation.
ABOUT CBIS
Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS) manages approximately $3.5 billion and combines faith and finance in the responsible stewardship of Catholic financial assets. CBIS' combination of institutional asset managers, diversified product offerings, and careful risk-control strategies constitutes a unique investment approach for Catholic institutions and their fiduciaries. CBIS strives to integrate faith-based values into the investment process through a disciplined approach to socially responsible investing that includes principled purchasing (stock screens), active ownership strategies (proxy voting, dialogues, and shareholder resolutions) and community investment. The firm contributes a portion of all profits to support the Church's educational and social ministry.
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