Skip to content
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
Insurance Journal - Property Casualty Industry News

Featured Stories

  • State Farm Still Wants a 30% Rate Increase in California
  • 2024 P/C Combined Ratio Best in More Than a Decade
  • Articles
  • Jobs
  • Markets

Current Magazine

current magazine
  • Read Online
  • Subscribe
  • Login
  • Front Page
    • National
    • International
    • Most Popular
    • Magazine
    • Forums
    • Blogs
    • Videos/Podcasts
    • Newsletters
  • News
    • Most Popular
    • National
    • International
    • East
    • Midwest
    • South Central
    • Southeast
    • West
  • Magazines
  • Research
  • Directories
  • Jobs
  • Features
    • Events
    • Forums
    • Market Directories
    • Quotes
    • Polls
    • Rankings & Awards
    • Insurance Giving Back
  • Subscribe

Climate Votes Fought by Major Oil Companies Get Key Backing

April 26, 2022
Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Article

An investor-led push for major oil companies to set climate goals in line with the Paris agreement won support from a key proxy advisory firm for the first time, setting up a showdown at upcoming shareholder meetings.

Institutional Shareholder Services urged investors in Occidental Petroleum Corp. and refiner Valero Energy Corp. to back proposals to align the companies’ targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions — including their customers’ — with the Paris agreement, according to investor reports seen by Bloomberg. ISS is likely to issue the same recommendation for eight other oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., facing similar votes, said Mark van Baal, founder of activist investor group Follow This.

It’s the first time that ISS “doesn’t agree with an oil major’s claim that the company already has Paris-consistent targets,” van Baal said. Occidental and Valero didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The ISS decision is significant because many investors follow its voting recommendations closely during proxy voting season. Its recommendation comes as major money managers such as BlackRock Inc. increasingly supported environmental proposals last year, and as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission weighs a new rule that would mandate that public companies disclose climate risks and carbon emissions.

“Investors would benefit from additional information on interim steps the company is taking to meet its long-term net-zero by 2050 target and how it plans to allocate capital in line with that goal,” ISS said in its recommendation to Occidental shareholders. Occidental’s annual meeting is scheduled for May 6, while Valero’s is April 27.

Though Occidental in 2020 became the first major U.S. oil producer to aim for net zero emissions from everything it extracts and sells, the plan relies heavily on capturing carbon dioxide and burying it, a technology that’s so far been prohibitively expensive. Valero’s climate goals also rely on carbon capture. The companies are urging investors to vote against the climate resolutions.

The SEC has allowed more environmental and social proposals to go to vote this year after overturning a policy enacted under the Trump administration that made it easier for companies to exclude such resolutions from ballots. The agency has quashed 19% of resolutions that companies asked to block this season, compared with between 43% and 54% over the past four years, according to research firm Sustainable Investments Institute near Washington.

Follow This and another shareholder group, Majority Action, have proposed that Occidental and other oil producers such as Exxon Mobil Corp. set stricter targets to reduce emissions and combat climate change.

Reporting by Paul Takahashi, Kevin Crowley and Scott Deveau. With assistance from Saijel Kishan.

Photo: An oil storage tank at the Valero Energy Corp. oil refinery in Memphis, Tennessee/Bloomberg.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Energy Oil Gas

Was this article valuable?

Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article.

Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it.

Here are more articles you may enjoy.

EPA to Rollback Limits on ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Drinking Water
FEMA Chief Says Agency Will Raise State Burden for Disasters to 50%
Captives to Remain Viable as Market Softens: RIMS Panel
Hack of Contractor Was at Root of Massive Federal Data Breach

Interested in Energy?

Get automatic alerts for this topic.

Email This Subscribe to Newsletter
  • Categories: National NewsTopics: climate, Energy, environmental social governance (ESG, ESG, greenhouse gas emissions, oil
  • Have a hot lead? Email us at newsdesk@insurancejournal.com
More News
Climeworks Is Cutting 22% of Staff as US Climate Backlash Hits Carbon Removal
Aircraft Lessor SMBC’s Proceeds From Russian Jet Insurance Settlements Hit $1.4B
Viewpoint: Loss Control Services Are Underused Tools to Reduce Identity Security Risk
AI Regulation Ban Meets Opposition From State Attorneys General
More News Features

Read This Next

  • Climate Votes Fought by Major Oil Companies Get Key Backing
  • Lawsuits Against BP Over Health Impacts of Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Stalled
  • Drivers Keep Shopping
  • New England's Shield Health Settles Data Breach Cases for $15.3 Million
  • Cybercrime Up Again

Insurance Jobs

  • Associate Client Advocate – Natural Resources - Houston, TX
  • Lead Technology Engineer -Identity & Access Management (Okta) - Hartford, CT
  • Systems Engineer - Tampa, FL
  • Healthcare Financial/Actuarial Analyst - Saint Louis, MO
  • Senior Risk Control Specialist – Commercial Insurance (Retail and Distribution) - Dallas, TX
MyNewMarkets
  • 5 Ways to Prepare for Healthcare Liability Changes in 2025
  • What's Next For Workers' Comp?
  • Soft D&O Market May Come to an End as Risk Complexities Rise
  • Exclusions: Active Assailant Coverage - Oh My!
  • 10 Things to Know About Insuring Boats & Marinas
Claims Journal
  • Report Shows Cargo Theft Risk at All-Time Highs as Memorial Day Weekend Nears
  • Department of Labor Keying in on Workplaces with Highest Injury Rates
  • Court Says Google, AI Firm Must Face Mother's Lawsuit Over Suicide of Son
  • State Farm Still Wants a 30% Rate Increase in California
  • No NOAA Large-Disaster Data Could Hurt Insurer Grasp of Secondary Perils, Says AM Best
Academy of Insurance education
  • May 22 Commercial Property: Five Bombs and How to Defuse Them
  • June 5 E&O and Hard Markets: How Trying to Keep a Client Might Cause Trouble
  • June 12 Rating AI Tools: Balancing Functionality and Security
  • June 19 Can You Hear Me? Yes, I Am Listening!

Insurance News

  • News by Region
  • News by Topic
  • Yesterday

Site Search

Features

  • Insurance Markets Directory
  • Forums
  • A.M. Best Company Ratings
  • Industry Events
  • Agencies For Sale
  • Newswire
  • Insurance Jobs
  • Rankings & Awards

Connect with us

  • Email Newsletters
  • Magazine Subscriptions
  • For Your Website
  • RSS Feeds
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Do Not Sell My Info

Insurance Journal

  • Submit News
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Reprints
  • Link to Us
  • Contact Us

Wells Media Group Network

  • Insurance Journal
  • MyNewMarkets.com
  • Claims Journal
  • Insurance Journal TV
  • Academy of Insurance
  • Carrier Management
© 2025 by Wells Media Group, Inc. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Site Map