US state treasurers press ExxonMobil on climate

New York, 25 May: The treasurers of seven US states and one city, all major holders of ExxonMobil shares, are pressuring the company's board of directors for a meeting on its plans to address climate change issues.

As of yesterday, the group had still not obtained its meeting with the board, though the oil and gas giant has agreed to a meeting with its strategic planning staff, says Robyn Belek, deputy director of communications with the Connecticut Treasurer's office. That is a disappointment, she adds, because the board wields the real power.

Also participating in the effort are the treasurers of California, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Maine, Vermont and New York City. Together with eight other institutional investors – including the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) – they own $5.26 billion in ExxonMobil shares and are all members of the Investor Network on Climate Change. The group will continue pressing for the board meeting, Belek says.

The target company has been notoriously hostile to the notion of human-induced global warming, with its recently-retired chief executive officer Lee Raymond once describing the concept as a "hoax".

The treasurers are seeking a formal report on ExxonMobil's plan to address the issue, such as major emitters American Electric Power and Ford have produced. "We're looking at this strictly from a financial perspective, not from a social perspective," says Belek, who says the treasurers expect eventual US regulation of carbon.

They have also stated that ExxonMobil is "a company that fails to acknowledge the potential for climate change to have a profound impact on global energy markets."

Connecticut treasurer Denise Nappier also stated that "ExxonMobil is making a massive bet – with shareholders' money – that the world's addiction to oil will not abate for decades, even as its competitors are taking significant steps to prepare for a rapidly changing energy environment."

ExxonMobil's new CEO Rex Tillerson has taken a softer line on the issue than his predecessor. In a 20 April speech during a conference in Rotterdam, he stated that while "scientific research continues for these recent changes" in climate, "at ExxonMobil, we recognise that the risk to society posed by greenhouse gas emissions may prove significant. And therefore action is justified now."

He said the company is contributing by "helping develop advanced fuel and engine systems and investing in breakthrough, emission-reducing technologies."