BP backs shareholder initiative on climate plan disclosure

LONDON – Energy giant BP plans to release more information about how new energy exploration and production projects would affect its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the company said Friday in a move reflecting investor pressure to put global warming on boardroom agendas.

BP said it will support a shareholder resolution from the Climate Action 100+ initiative, a group of institutional investors who have called on the company to improve corporate reporting and transparency on risks related to climate change.

The group includes 300 investors, which together manage $32 trillion in assets. They include major public employee retirement funds Hermes EOS, Aviva Investors and Legal & General Investment Management.

“Investors are helping ensure climate change is firmly on the boardroom agenda, which is especially important for the oil and gas sector,” Stephanie Pfeifer, a member of the global Climate Action 100+ steering committee and a former Deutsche Bank economist, said. “It’s encouraging to see major companies such as BP moving in the right direction.”

The resolution, to be put to shareholders in May at the annual general meeting, calls for BP to state how the company evaluates whether new capital expenditures, such as the development of oil and gas fields, are consistent with its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris climate accord.

The international agreement aims to limit global temperature increases by the end of the century to less than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above preindustrial levels to minimize the impact of climate change.