Shareholder Resolutions Pressure Corporations To Disclose Plans For Climate Change

A large coalition of shareholders in several energy companies has recently published resolutions focused on provoking corporate responses to climate change. In early 2015, 150 investors in BP Plc ("BP") and Royal Dutch Shell Plc ("Shell") published resolutions with the two companies demanding several responses. Specifically, the resolutions call for the companies to: (i) test whether their business models are compatible with the "2C target," the international community's pledge to limit global warming to two degrees on the centigrade scale (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit); (ii) restructure the corporate bonus systems to no longer reward climate-harming activities; (iii) commit to reducing emissions and investing in renewable energy; and (iv) disclose how their public policy plans align with climate change mitigation and risk. These measures will be put to a vote at BP and Shell's annual general meetings ("AGM"), in April and May 2015, respectively. In a January 29, 2015, letter