The dark days of the first year of Trump’s Government in the USA saw asset managers finding ways to ditch what were being called “woke” strategies that backed reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The feeling was that pleasing Trump and his followers was more important than the sustainability of the platform. Now with the Iranian war forcing oil prices well above $100 a barrel, financiers see that the best resilience to $4 + per gallon in the American petrol tank is to invest in energy sources that don’t destroy the planet.
It would seem that the institutional investors for American funded pensions are coming out of their bomb shelters and speaking their minds
The FT is clear that this move is not going to jerk the dial , but is indicative of a feeling among American institutional investors.
The New York State Common Retirement Fund, which owns a $1.6mn stake in the oil major, told Total its decision to terminate two offshore wind leases and redirect investment into fossil fuels raised “significant concerns” regarding its strategic consistency, financial discipline and risk management, according to a letter to Total chief executive Patrick Pouyanné seen by the FT.
While the fund’s stake in Total is small and divestiture would be symbolic, the warning indicates growing resistance to the White House’s use of lease refunds to stop offshore wind projects. It also creates a bind for energy companies caught between competing political forces in the US, with Republicans trying to block renewable energy and Democrats promoting it.
American pension investors are not alone, the same is happening the other side of the pond. Once again, BP’s strategy looks disastrously wrong. This from MSN
That’s April 9th 2026
BP has excluded a resolution filed by climate activist group Follow This from the April 23 annual general meeting, asked for permission to hold online-only annual general meetings and to retire two previous resolutions requiring company-specific climate reporting.
The LAPFF, which says it represents funds with assets worth over 425 billion pounds ($569 billion) and around 1.34% of BP’s shares, opposes all these moves.
The Follow This resolution called on BP to disclose how its strategy would perform under scenarios of declining demand for oil and gas. BP has said the resolution was invalid and would be ineffective if it were to pass at its AGM.
Referring to its plan to retire the two climate resolutions, a BP spokesperson said the oil major has had extensive engagement with its largest investors and is focused on building a more valuable company. “That’s why we are making these recommendations, to provide transparent, standardised disclosures that support clear comparisons across companies,” the spokesperson said.
There is in the City and in the country (see today’s local election results) support for a right wing movement (Reform UK) who follows the “anti-woke” mantra of Trump and his followers. But perhaps people are waking up to the reality that relying on fossil fuels for British, American – indeed of worldwide energy – is short term and highly risky.
I hope that BP sees the folly of its ways, I hope that trustees of our pension funds (whether DB, DC or CDC) set out to make our world one that the pensioners in 50 years time will continue to find liveable. Well done to all pension trustees who say no to the abandonment of sustainable strategies, sustainable for our planet’s climate.