Here are the brutal facts. Two shareholders filed a case against Exxon (Esso to us) for its climate policy. The shareholders were forced to withdraw the filings and were pursued by Exxon after withdrawal with civil action.

Marcie Frost of CalPERS calls this out.

It is also an example of how women have come to the fore in the pursuit of environmental , social and governance gains. Not only is the story about a female CEO but is written by one of our top female journalists – Mona Dohle.

She presents the case put forward by CalPERS’s Marcie Frost through a quote that should become a clarion call.

“The long-term repercussions of silencing shareholders should concern everyone. So let me be clear, CalPERS will not be silenced. We will not be silenced when doing what is right to provide long-term investment returns for our members and we will not be silenced in our call for more information and more ways to assess the risks of climate change”

CalPERS is not only standing up for the shareholders but to Exxon.

I have written about BP’s dismal behavior towards its pensioners, but if its peers can, in the United States, behave with impunity , then BP are emboldened. At a time when much of the momentum towards Net Zero is being lost, we have CalPERS, one of the great pension funds in the world to thank for not backing down.

But Dohle is not satisfied with that commenting  on Linked In.

Latest on Net Zero Investor: CalPERS CEO Marcie Frost is not mincing her words when airing her discontent about the crackdown on shareholder rights at Exxon.

Hopefully heartening news for Follow This | Shareholders change the world and As You Sow who have been targeted by the oil giant. But with no climate resolutions being filed, will it lead to CalPERS voting against the Exxon board?

Writing on a cold and damp Saturday morning, I find this final comment uplifting. I am not a Net Zero campaigner but I do invest for Net Zero as far as I can – most of my money is in LGIM’s fossil free fund. I rely on asset owners, advisers and journalists to act on my behalf and while I deplore bad practice, I am pleased to applaud good.

It is not just uplifting but a question full of hope that whatever we see happening in the United States, there are those on both sides of the Atlantic who are not satisfied with the complacency of the past two years.

I hope that CalPERS will continue to pursue Exxon with climate resolutions and that Net Zero Investor will continue to report on its efforts with the sharp eye of this piece of reporting.

I hope that we will see more pressure in the UK from pensioners and their fiduciaries to stand up to the management boards of large corporates who sometimes seem only to act for themselves.

You can read the whole article without a pay-wall – from this link.