Latest news with #MarkvanBaal
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BP Faces Shareholder Showdown Amid Oil Price Crash
BP is holding its annual general meeting on April 17 in the early days of its strategy reset to return to its core oil and gas business while oil prices have crashed by more than $10 per barrel this month. Shareholders, especially activist hedge fund Elliott, will want to make their position known at the AGM votes on Thursday. Activist investor Elliott, which has been pushing for dramatic changes at BP since amassing a 5% stake in the supermajor, is likely to express its continued frustration with BP's performance by voting against the re-election of directors. Fortunately for BP, one of the constant campaigners that has been pushing for years for shareholder resolutions on emissions and climate accountability at AGMs, Follow This, has just decided to pause its climate resolutions at Big Oil – for the first time since 2016 – citing investor hesitation about ESG investments and campaigning.'Shareholder resolutions have been critical in compelling five oil majors to set emissions reduction targets, but most institutional investors are reluctant to use their voting power,' Mark van Baal of Follow This said last week ahead of the AGMs at the oil and gas supermajors. 'It's a strategic pause to get more investors on board and to discuss how to work together to uphold shareholder rights.' The backlash against ESG, combined with the trade war, has left investors uncertain about how to proceed with climate action, Follow This said. The climate campaign group noted that it 'speaks with investors about addressing these barriers, exploring what prevents investors, like BlackRock, LGIM, and NBIM, from casting their votes in favour of Paris-alignment despite their public climate commitments.' In BP's case, however, the step-back of Follow This appears to be the only good news for the company and its management these days. BP's shares continue to lose more than its peers, including Shell and the U.S. supermajors, and have dipped in value more than those of the other majors during the oil price rout triggered by fears of weaker oil demand in light of the trade wars and uncertainty about tariffs. Year to date, BP's stock has plunged by 18% despite the strategy reset announced at the end of February. To compare, Shell's shares have lost 13% so far this year, while Exxon and Chevron have dropped by 4% and 6% respectively—much less than the oil price decline. BP's strategy reset has failed to lift its stock performance despite the supermajor walking back on renewable energy spending and stepping up investment in fossil fuels. BP vowed to increase its investment in upstream oil and gas to $10 billion per year while slashing spending on clean energy by more than $5 billion a year. The pressure on BP became more intense this year after Elliott bought a nearly 5% stake in the supermajor and demanded changes in strategy or even board reshuffles. In a move seen as a win for Elliott, BP chair Helge Lund this month announced his intention to step down from the role 'most likely during 2026.' This announcement doesn't mean Elliott wouldn't vote against Lund or other board directors at the shareholders' meeting this week to express its dissatisfaction with how the company has been run. In a very unfortunate development for BP, any positive share performance from the strategy reset was obliterated within a month by the tariff and trade wars, which crashed the price of Brent Crude oil to the low $60s per barrel. Lower oil prices could test BPs ability to sustain its returns to shareholders, including dividends, especially as the supermajor flagged an increase in its net debt in the first quarter of 2025. BP warned of a weak natural gas trading result for the first quarter and said its net debt at quarter-end is expected to be around $4 billion higher compared to the fourth quarter, primarily due to a working capital build. This, BP said, is largely expected to reverse, reflecting seasonal inventory effects, timing of payments including annual bonus payments, and payments related to low carbon assets held for sale. But Elliott and other shareholders will want more, and BP could struggle to deliver. By Tsvetana Paraskova for More Top Reads From this article on
Euronews
10-04-2025
- Business
- Euronews
‘One big backlash': Why is a green shareholder activist group pausing its climate resolutions?
ADVERTISEMENT A shareholder activist group that seeks to 'change the system from within' is pausing its climate activism. Dutch group Follow This has announced it will not seek to file any climate resolutions at oil and gas company shareholder meetings this AGM season, after a loss of investor appetite for climate action. It follows the weakening of energy transition commitments in recent months from the likes of BP, Shell and Equinor, as they double down on more profitable fossil fuels. A 'changing political landscape' and global trade tensions are also to blame, according to Follow This , which began its brand of activism in 2016. Related 'Society is at a crossroads': 5 deep changes experts say will turn us away from the climate abyss Ditching fossil fuels would improve energy security for most countries, new research finds What has Follow This achieved? Follow This subscribes to the logic that Big Oil won't change unless its shareholders demand action. By becoming a 'green shareholder' in some of the world's most polluting companies, the activist group has put forward proposals demanding they align with the Paris Agreement's directive to cut emissions, and convinced other shareholders to vote for these resolutions too. Since 2016, the group has achieved shareholder support of 80 per cent at Phillips 66, 60 per cent at Chevron, around a third at Exxon and Shell , and a fifth at BP, Reuters reports. The Chevron victory came at an AGM in 2021, when 60 per cent of shareholders backed the call to cut emissions. 'In 2021, we saw the potential for widespread support,' Follow This founder Mark van Baal told the UK's Guardian paper. '[But] to compel oil giants to make significant investments in clean energy, investor pressure must rise.' However, the group has only mustered around 20 per cent support from shareholders in the last few years. Follow This faced a significant setback last year, when Exxon sued it together with Arjuna Capital for filing a climate-related resolution. A judge dismissed the case, but only after the defendants withdrew the resolution and promised not to resubmit a similar one or help others to do so. There has been further hostility in the US recently, with some states taking legal action against big investors for supporting climate proposals. Related Project 2025: What environmental cutbacks has Trump made in a month and what's next? 'Their determination is heroic': Portuguese youth mount fresh climate lawsuit against government Why are fossil fuel companies backtracking on climate commitments? Major oil and gas companies have been reneging on their climate commitments in recent months. In February, for example, BP announced it was scrapping a target to increase renewable generation 20-fold by 2030, returning the focus to fossil fuels in an attempt to tackle investor concerns over earnings. Van Baal told the Guardian that the group's mission will remain unchanged. It will continue to engage with investors to understand why they do not use their shareholder rights to demand change from the companies they invest in. Meanwhile, climate campaigners will be turning up the heat externally as AGM season starts. ADVERTISEMENT 'Big oil's big money is right now participating in one big backlash - against climate regulations from government, against zero commitments in banking, against renewable investments at fossil fuel companies,' Robin Wells, director of Fossil Free London, tells Euronews Green. 'As Shell and BP tear up their climate plans, scoffing over oil profits, what all of us citizens have always understood is now the clearest it has ever been - the fossil fuel industry is not going to willingly stop being the fossil fuel industry.'
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Green activist group is pausing work after backlash by investors
A green shareholder activist group has decided to 'pause' its work pushing oil companies to reduce their emissions amid a growing investor backlash against climate action. Follow This has confirmed that it will not file any climate resolutions against oil and gas companies during the forthcoming AGM season for the first time since 2016. The Netherlands-based group, which has been one of the most successful shareholder activists of recent years, blamed 'the changing political landscape' and 'the backlash against climate-conscious investors' for the decision by 'most institutional shareholders' to pull their support for climate resolutions. The group pointed to a number of US states which have taken legal action against big investors for supporting climate action, and the recent decision of US regulators to drop climate investment disclosure rules as key factors behind the trend. Follow This was taken to court by ExxonMobil last year for its role in calling for the company to reduce its emissions in line with global climate targets, before a judge threw the case out. The group said that these challenges, combined with global trade tensions, have left investors 'uncertain about how to proceed with climate action'. Mark van Baal, the founder of Follow This, said: 'Shareholder resolutions have been critical in compelling five oil majors to set emissions-reduction targets, but most institutional investors are reluctant to use their voting power.' He said that the group's mission would remain unchanged, and it would continue to engage with investors to understand why they do not use their shareholder rights to demand change from the companies they invest in. Follow This holds a small number of shares in oil companies in order to put forward shareholder resolutions which demand that they align their activities with the decarbonisation agenda put forward in the Paris climate agreement. The group's most notable triumph was a resolution against the board of the US oil company Chevron calling for emissions reductions which won support from 60% of its shareholders at an AGM in 2021. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion 'In 2021, we saw the potential for widespread support,' Van Baal said. '[But] to compel oil giants to make significant investments in clean energy, investor pressure must rise.' Instead, support for the group's resolutions has plateaued at about 20% in the years since. Van Baal said: 'Together with supporting investors, we must convince all responsible investors that they have an unambiguous financial imperative to act. 'Big oil can make or break the Paris climate agreement. Their shareholders have only one formal power: the power of the vote. It's time for more investors to exercise their vote.'
Reuters
09-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Climate activist shareholder group Follow This pauses big oil campaign
LONDON, April 10 (Reuters) - Climate activist shareholder group Follow This said on Thursday a lack of investor appetite has forced it to suspend its nearly decade-long campaign seeking stronger commitments from major oil and gas producers to emission cuts. The Dutch group started filing climate resolutions at shareholder meetings in 2016, reaching shareholder support in subsequent years of 80% at Phillips 66 (PSX.N), opens new tab, 60% at Chevron, around a third at Exxon (XOM.N), opens new tab and Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab and a fifth at BP (BP.L), opens new tab. However, a surge in oil and gas prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and lower-than-expected returns from investments in renewable energy have shifted shareholders' focus back to more profitable oil and gas. BP, Shell and Equinor ( opens new tab, among other companies, have rolled back their energy transition ambitions in recent months. "Institutional investors are reluctant to use their voting power," Follow This founder Mark van Baal said. Exxon last year sued Follow This and Arjuna Capital after they filed a climate-related resolution. A judge ultimately dismissed the suit, but only after the defendants withdrew their resolution and promised not to resubmit a similar one or help others do so. "Follow This talks with supportive investors about reassessing strategies and addressing these barriers, exploring what is preventing other investors... from casting their votes, despite their stated commitments," van Baal said.
