Investor pressure stalls as climate group halts shareholder resolutions against oil giants
A leading climate activist group in the Netherlands is suspending its shareholder push against oil companies after waning investor support and rising political pressure in the U.S.
Jillian Ambrose reports for The Guardian.
In short:
- Dutch activist group Follow This will not file climate resolutions at oil company AGMs this year for the first time since 2016, citing political and legal backlash.
- U.S. states have sued major investors over climate initiatives, and federal regulators recently dropped proposed rules on climate-related financial disclosures.
- Despite earlier success — such as a 60% shareholder vote backing emissions cuts at Chevron in 2021 — recent investor support for such efforts has plateaued at around 20%.
Key quote:
“Big oil can make or break the Paris climate agreement. Their shareholders have only one formal power: the power of the vote. It’s time for more investors to exercise their vote.”
— Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This
Why this matters:
The once-promising strategy of using shareholder activism to nudge oil giants toward climate accountability is now facing a sobering backlash. In recent years, investor-backed climate resolutions have managed to force major players like Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil to publicly commit to emission reduction goals, even if those promises were non-binding. But the momentum behind these campaigns is faltering amid growing political pushback, particularly in the U.S., where Republican-controlled states have begun punishing financial firms for pursuing ESG — environmental, social, and governance — agendas. This politicization has had a chilling effect on institutional investors, who now fear retaliation for aligning too closely with climate goals.
Related: Large corporations successfully block shareholder climate proposals
