Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) is facing pressure from New York state chiefs and other investors to become more transparent about the impact of climate change rules on its business.
The state comptroller of New York and four of Exxon's shareholders have urged the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) to force the US oil giant to include a climate change resolution in its annual shareholder proxy, according to Reuters.
Exxon reportedly told the SEC last month that it planned to block a vote on the resolution at its annual meeting in May because it was "vague" and required measures that were hard to quantify.
But the comptroller, which oversees New York's US$178.3bn pension fund, is said to have told the SEC in a filing that investors need the information to help them decide whether to invest in Exxon.
"As investors, we need to know how the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will impact Exxon Mobil's bottom line and what the company plans to do about it," the comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, told Reuters.
Exxon is also understood to be fighting an inquiry by New York state's attorney general into claims that it "misled" the public and shareholders about the risks of climate change.
The oil company and the SEC, which is likely to rule on the matter before Exxon sends its proxy materials to shareholders in the spring, declined to comment, Reuters reported.