A leading proxy adviser has advised shareholders of oil group Total to back a resolution brought by activist group Follow This at the French group’s AGM.
Follow This and seventeen other investors have lodged a motion that the energy giant aligns its policies with Scope 3 targets laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement.
According to PA, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has recommended that investors vote for the resolution, which would force Total to do more to limit indirect emissions such as car exhausts.
It is the first time ISS has recommended shareholders vote for a climate resolution brought by an outsider at an annual meeting of a European oil and gas super major.
ISS said there were concerns that the level of information provided by Total is insufficient to show the targets are aligned with the Paris Accord.
Shell is also facing dissatisfaction votes at its AGM next week, including a motion, backed by four pension funds, that it too realigns its climate targets with Paris having recently toned down its “greening” plans and hinted it would invest more in fossil fuels again.
"Following its record profits, we had hoped Shell would step up its activities towards meeting its net-zero ambitions," said Katharine Lindmeier, senior responsible investment manager at Nest, one of the pension funds voting for the motion.
"Instead, they're kicking the can down the road and increasing the risks on long-term shareholders,"