ConocoPhillips shareholders back proposal to set Scope 3 targets
A majority of shareholders at U.S. oil and gas producer ConocoPhillips (COP.N) on Tuesday voted in favor of setting emissions reduction targets that include the use of the company’s fuels.
Few U.S. producers have set so-called Scope 3 targets, which take into account greenhouse gas emissions from customers using the fuel they have purchased, although their European counterparts have done so.
ConocoPhillips is among those that so far has outlined net-zero 2050 goals for Scope 1 emissions, which include its own operations, and Scope 2 emissions, which take into account the power generation to run its facilities.
The shareholder measure passed by 58%.
Directors “will take the outcome of this vote into account when evaluating our management of climate-related risks,” said ConocoPhillips General Counsel Shannon Kinney.
The company opposed the resolution, saying it “does not control who processes our crude oil, what energy products they are transformed into, nor how those products are made, marketed and used.”
“Conoco cannot ignore this request from its shareholders,” said Mark van Baal, founder of shareholder advocacy group Follow This, which submitted the proposal.
“More and more investors recognize that the oil and gas industry can make or break the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement,” he added.
Conoco is “proud of our track record of leadership and engagement” on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues, spokesman John Roper said after the vote.
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