Shareholder Resolutions in The Carbon Underground 200 Companies, 2012-2016: A Complex Picture

Over the past five years, shareholder resolutions targeting The Carbon Underground 200 (CU200) have increased meaningfully. Given investors’ growing interest in engaging fossil fuel companies as a way to mitigate climate risk, we recently undertook a review of climate- and carbon-risk-related shareholder resolutions in the oil and gas, energy, and mining sectors between 2012 and 2016, including those targeting the public companies included in the CU200. What we found is that even though shareholder resolutions for these companies are on the rise, their influence, based on coverage, intent, and overall shareholder support evident in voting outcomes, appears modest. ….