ShareAction: Leading investors call on FTSE 100 companies to leave regressive climate lobbying groups

A global coalition of 25 institutional investors with over forty five billion pounds in assets under management is calling on nine major publicly listed companies to review their membership of lobbying groups that seek to undermine EU climate policy.

The investors have written to BHP Billiton, BP, EDF, Glencore, Johnson Matthey, Proctor and Gamble, Rio Tinto, Statoil and Total expressing concern that the companies declared climate policies are undermined by membership of lobby groups with a track record of obstructive lobbying on climate change policy. The move comes as companies have come under increasing pressure to withdraw from regressive lobbying groups, with Unilever leaving Business Europe and BP and Shell exiting ALEC over climate policy. 

Arne Lööw, Head of Corporate Governance at AP4 (Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund) said: 

“As we approach important UN negotiations on climate change, AP4 (Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund) is pleased to support this initiative. We believe it is important that investors put pressure on companies who are financing associations seeking to undermine climate legislation, and would encourage companies to withdraw from associations who have lobbied in ways which seem inconsistent with the companies´ own statements on climate action.”  MORE