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Exxon Rejected Net Zero Pitch After Proxy Loss, Citi Banker Says
- Trauber says Exxon told him it couldn’t commit to a plan
- Meeting followed oil giant’s proxy defeat by activist investor
An Exxon Mobil gas station in El Cerrito, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Exxon Mobil Corp. rejected a pitch from a Citigroup Inc. senior investment banker to commit to a target for net zero emissions even after shareholders staged a revolt over the company’s climate policy.
Stephen Trauber, co-head of the bank’s newly created natural resources and clean-energy transition group, said he met with the oil giant’s executive committee right after it lost three board seats in June. Activist investor Engine No. 1 ran a successful proxy campaign as it pushed for a net zero target. Trauber said he urged the oil giant to reconsider its position.