DALLAS (AP) — Exxon Mobil shareholders Wednesday pushed the company to report and disclose whether regulations designed to reduce climate change will hurt the oil giant’s business.
Investors holding 62 percent of shares voted at the company’s annual meeting favored more disclosure around the impact of global policies aimed at limiting global warming to 2 degrees Centigrade.
The vote is a defeat for the company and a victory for environmentalists and shareholder activists, who saw support for their proposal grow from 38 percent a year ago.
Chairman and CEO Darren Woods says the matter will be reconsidered by the Exxon board. The meeting is the first since Woods became CEO, replacing Rex Tillerson, who moved up his retirement date after being picked to become President Donald Trump’s secretary of state.
Shareholder activists also want Exxon to describe steps it takes to prevent methane emissions from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, when it drills oil and gas wells.
Exxon shares were down 42 cents to $80.68 in early afternoon trading.