ConocoPhillips Shareholders Reject New Emissions-Reduction Targets, Report Says

ConocoPhillips shareholders did not back a proposal aimed at incorporating customer emissions into the company’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, according to preliminary vote counts released on Tuesday.

Only 39% of shareholders supported the environmental group’s initiative, which sought to establish overall reduction targets in alignment with the Paris Climate Agreement’s objective of keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius.

Large oil and gas companies are facing increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change impacts. While many have set targets for cutting their own direct and indirect emissions—termed Scope 1 and Scope 2—emissions generated through customers’ use of their products, known as Scope 3, have encountered more resistance.

Conoco’s board recommended voting against the proposal, asserting that it was inappropriate for a company solely focused on fossil fuel exploration and production to set Scope 3 targets.

In the previous year, 58% of Conoco’s shareholders supported a resolution to establish reduction targets for emissions associated with its operations and products; however, that resolution did not specifically align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

The activist group Follow This, which submitted the proposal, indicated that the drop in support might have stemmed from tougher targets compared to last year’s proposal. The group also suggested that Conoco may have persuaded investors that addressing the ongoing energy crisis takes precedence over climate change concerns.

Additionally, last week, shareholders of Occidental Petroleum Corp voted against a similar proposal from Follow This aimed at expanding emissions reduction targets.

Notably, around 92% of Conoco’s shareholders are estimated to have voted in favor of the company’s board of directors.