"Climate Change Takes Center Stage At Exxon, Chevron Annual Meetings"

"Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp will face their toughest-ever push by shareholders concerned about a warming world at annual meetings on Wednesday, as the Paris accord to tackle climate change ratchets up investor pressure on two of the world's largest oil companies.

The tension is most acute at Exxon, which has denied accusations from environmentalists that it purposely misled the public about climate change risks. The New York attorney general is investigating Exxon and it has complained of being unfairly targeted by special interest groups.

The raft of proposals up for vote at the two companies more than doubled to 11 this year, the latest sign that environmental concerns once considered peripheral by many investors have become mainstream. Even the most traditional shareholder groups are now urging companies to detail how they will plan for the future after 195 governments agreed in December to limit the rise in global temperatures to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) through combined national pledges to cut carbon emissions from fossil fuels."

Ernest Scheyder and Terry Wade report for Reuters May 24, 2016.

SEE ALSO:

"Exxon Unlikely to Change Course on Climate Change at Annual Shareholder Meeting" (InsideClimate News)

"FPL Parent Company Asked To Report On Cost Of Sea Level Risk" (Miami Herald)

"Exxon Investors Seek Assurance as Climate Shifts, Along With Attitudes" (New York Times)

Source: Reuters, 05/24/2016