Exxon and Climate Activists Should Make Their Peace
Fighting with shareholders is counterproductive. Here’s a better approach.
Less talk, more action.
Photographer: Artur Widak/NurPhoto
Exxon Mobil Corp.’s management recently won a round against shareholder activists who want the company to take bolder action on climate change. But the activists’ campaign won’t and shouldn’t end until Exxon — the world’s largest energy company not owned by a government — does more to match its record with its rhetoric.
In a speech last November, Exxon Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods pledged the company’s commitment to “finding solutions” to “the very real threat of climate change.” He conceded that burning oil and gas is a “leading source” of greenhouse gas emissions and touted the company’s investments in a low-carbon hydrogen plant, biofuel projects and lithium production for storing electricity.