Oil giant ExxonMobil attacked by shareholders

In an 80-page report, activist fund Engine No.1 accuses oil giant ExxonMobi of doing too little in the face of climate change.

ERIC PIERMONT AFP / File

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ExxonMobil is in the sights of one of its shareholder funds.

In an 80-page report, activist fund Engine No.1 accuses the oil giant of doing too little in the face of climate change, according to the

Financial Times.

The American company has been singled out by its shareholders for months for its lack of climate strategy, while its competitors have advanced in favor of the climate.

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Engine N ° 1 does not go by the back of the spoon.

Exxon exposes it to an " 

existential commercial risk 

", he denounces.

The investment fund which campaigns in favor of the climate deplores the absence of a " 

credible plan 

" to " 

protect the value of the group in an energy transition 

".

For its part, Exxon explains that it has focused on CO2 capture and on hydrogen, an alternative to fossil fuels, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 to 20% by 2025.

Far from the objectives of the Paris Climate Agreement

But in fact, the American group mainly plans to focus its growth on new oil and gas projects and expects 20 to 25 billion dollars of expenditure per year between 2022 and 2025, far from the objectives of the Agreement of Paris for the climate.

This agreement signed in 2015 provides for limiting global warming to a level below 2 ° Celsius, preferably 1.5 °, compared to the pre-industrial level.

► To read also: Climate: five years after the Paris Agreement, the results are long overdue

Engine N ° 1 therefore wants the head of several directors and a serious turn towards renewable energies and intends to rally other shareholders to its cause.

In response, Exxon called on shareholders not to be fooled by a month-old hedge fund that threatens the group's future.

ExxonMobil is not an isolated case.

Most of the big oil groups are also in the sights of the financiers.

Last year, they attacked the French Total, calling on it to do more in favor of the climate.

Other oil groups like Shell, Equinor and BP have also had to face their retribution and raise the bar.

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