"Exxon Digs In Against Shareholder Pressure to Address Climate Change"

"The latest resolution the oil giant opposes calls for an accounting of how its business will be affected by global climate action."

"ExxonMobil has challenged a shareholder resolution that calls for the company to show how its business will be affected by the global commitment to dramatically slow global warming.

The resolution—filed by the New York State comptroller's office and four co-filers—also seeks an explanation of how Exxon will address those impacts. Exxon notified the Securities and Exchange Commission that it wants to block a vote on the proposal at its annual meeting in May. The fossil fuel giant argued that it's unlikely that strict emissions restrictions will be imposed to meet the goal of holding global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius that world governments agreed to in last year's Paris climate accord.

By challenging the resolution, Exxon positioned itself as an outlier in the oil industry's growing acceptance of the consequences of burning fossil fuels and the urgency to halt global warming, some industry analysts said. The SEC recently denied a request by AES Corp., a generating company in Virginia, to block a similar shareholder resolution."

David Hasemyer reports for InsideClimate News February 25, 2016.