CalPERS backs BNP's climate disclosure proposal to Chevron
May 7 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp's shareholder, CalPERS, on Thursday came out in support of a proposal that urges the oil and gas company to improve the disclosure of its climate-related lobbying objectives.
California's largest state public pension fund, CalPERS, which holds about 4.5 million shares in Chevron, asked shareholders to vote in favor of BNP Paribas Asset Management's proposal at the energy company's annual meeting on May 27.
The proposal requests Chevron's board to evaluate and issue a report within the next year detailing if and how its lobbying activities align with the goal of limiting average global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, according to a CalPERS's filing with the U.S. SEC.
"The company has failed to provide shareowners with the needed information to adequately assess their climate-related lobbying objectives," the filing read.
Energy companies have come under increased pressure from governments, activists and investors to lay out a clear path towards substantially, decreasing not only their own emissions, but also those from the products they sell.
BNP had also made a similar proposal to Exxon's shareholders but the SEC has allowed the oil producer to not hold a vote on it. The company already has a similar proposal from another shareholder group that will be voted on at its annual meeting on May 27. (Reporting by Arundhati Sarkar in Bengaluru Editing by Supriya Kurane)
