ESG & Investing

Australia’s Biggest Greenhouse-Gas Emitter AGL Shelves Demerger Plans in Win for Billionaire’s Climate Push

  • AGL abandons demerger after Mike Cannon-Brookes opposition
  • Sydney-based utility being pressed to close coal plants faster
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A billionaire campaigner forced a key Australian polluter to capitulate over its corporate strategy in one of the most aggressive and successful examples of investor-led climate activism.

AGL Energy Ltd. abandoned a plan to split its retail and power-generation assets -- and said its chief executive officer and chairman will exit -- after pressure from technology tycoon Mike Cannon-Brookes, who became the utility’s largest shareholder this month to hasten efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.