The season of annual general meetings (AGMs) is kicking off with BP tomorrow following annual reports from ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP dominated by AI, walking back climate commitments, and concern about price volatility due to U.S. military aggression against multiple countries.
These meetings are when shareholders exercise their legal right to address issues that pose risk to investors. Shareholder rights have been under increasing attack by companies like ExxonMobil and the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins, who has abdicated responsibility to protect shareholder resolutions.
The AGMs are arriving in the midst of a global conflict with major implications for the energy transition as well as industry efforts to circumvent state courts and secure liability waivers from Congress. The push for broad legal immunity is ramping up as communities increasingly turn to litigation as a pathway to justice, illustrating how major fossil fuel companies see the lawsuits as threats to their bottom lines, even as they continue to roll back their climate commitments and dismiss shareholder questions related to declining demand for oil and gas.
Meanwhile, an Israeli operative who allegedly orchestrated an illegal hacking operation linked to ExxonMobil was extradited to the United States and appeared in court earlier this month. The hacking scheme targeted UCS and other groups working to hold the fossil fuel giant accountable for climate deception and damages.
UCS experts are closely tracking AGMs of the following fossil fuel companies and their financiers and are available to comment on shareholder engagement, corporate climate disclosures, disinformation and greenwashing, AI as a lifeline for Big Oil and actions necessary to hold fossil fuel corporations accountable for driving the climate crisis.
- BP, April 23, 6:00am ET, in-person
- Wells Fargo, April 28, 10:00am ET, virtual
- Shell, May 19, 6:00am ET, hybrid
- JPMorgan Chase, May 19, 10:00am ET, virtual
- BlackRock, May 20, 8:00am ET, virtual
- Citi, May 20, 2:00pm ET, virtual
- Chubb, May 21, 5:45am ET, in-person
- Chevron, May 27, 9:00am ET, virtual
- ExxonMobil, May 27, 10:30am ET, virtual
Kathy Mulvey, the accountability campaign director for the Climate and Energy Program at UCS will attend the ExxonMobil and Shell virtual AGMs on the proxy of a climate-conscious investor.
Laura Peterson, the senior analyst for the UCS accountability campaign will attend Chevron’s virtual AGM on the proxy of a climate-conscious investor.
Additional UCS Resources:
- Blog post on BP AGM and U.S. context for upcoming AGMs
- Blog post on ExxonMobil’s lawsuit against California disclosure laws
- Blog post explaining the consequences of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission rolling back climate disclosure requirements
- Blog post on how climate superfund bills make big polluters pay for climate damages