 
Imperial Oil shareholders will vote on resolution calling on company
to spell out climate change liability
16 April 2003
On Tuesday April 22nd Imperial Oil shareholders will vote on a resolution
that would require the company to spell out potential financial liabilities
associated with its greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a plan to
reduce this liability.
This is the first time a shareholder resolution on climate change
risk has gone forward at an annual general meeting in Canada. The
resolution is made possible by recent changes to the Canada Business
Corporation Act, which previously gave companies broad discretionary
power to dismiss shareholder proposals.
“This is an ethical issue. For many years, churches and religious
orders have been pressuring oil companies about the need to take
responsibility for climate change. We are encouraged that finally,
as investors, we have the opportunity express concern in this formal
way,” said David Hallman, a spokesperson from KAIROS, an ecumenical
organization which is facilitating the action for the three official
filers, The Presbyterian Church, the Sisters of Saint Anne and Les
Soeurs de Saint-Joseph de Saint-Hyacinthe.
Tuesday’s vote comes amidst growing concern from institutional
investors that oil companies’ failure to curb greenhouse gas
emissions will eventually leave them exposed to trillions of dollars
worth of insurance claims caused by extreme weather events like
floods and droughts.
In March the Carbon Disclosure Project, sponsored by 35 institutional
investors with assets in excess of US$4.5 trillion, released a major
report "Carbon Finance and the Global Equity Markets".
The report analyzes the elements of "carbon risk" in different
industrial sectors and supports the assertion that the risk is real.
In response to this report, pension funds for New York City and
the states of New York, Connecticut, and Vermont announced plans
to hold an institutional investors summit within the next six months
to examine risks associated with climate change and corporate disclosure
practices. The funds, holding combined assets of about US$130 billion,
have said they would vote in favour of shareholder resolutions requesting
companies to disclose and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
A similar proposal has been filed with Petro-Canada by Real Assets
Investment Management Inc. and Ethical Funds Inc. and will be voted
on at that company’s annual meeting on April 29.
NOTE: THE SHAREHOLDER VOTE WILL TAKE PLACE AT 11:00 AM ON TUESDAY,
APRIL 22ND AT THE TORONTO METRO CONVENTION CENTRE.
For a copy of the shareholder resolution visit: www.kairoscanada.org.
CONTACT: David Hallman, Co-Chair KAIROS Ecological Justice Program
Committee or Nancy Palardy, KAIROS Corporate Issues Desk - 416.463.5312
ext. 229 (office) or 416-875-8755 (cell phone). Both David and Nancy
will be available for interviews immediately following the annual
meeting.
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