The Shareholder Revolution At ExxonMobil Is an Example of a Larger Trend

From the Washington Post:

A group of insurgent investors backed by the three largest pension funds in America is trying to force ExxonMobil to take climate change much more seriously — not just for the sake of the company’s viability but also for the sake of the planet.

The revolt is being led by a hedge fund, called Engine No. 1, which has charged the company not only with poor financial governance but with failing to come up with a viable strategy for dealing with the existential threat of climate change. Their campaign has built momentum by winning widespread backing from pension funds and shareholder advisory services for its proposal to install four new independent directors at ExxonMobil’s annual meeting next week over the objections of the oil giant’s management.

Engine No. 1 wants ExxonMobil to pledge to reduce its emissions to net zero by 2050, warning that this was “not just a climate issue but a fundamental investor issue — no different than capital allocation or management compensation — given the immense risk to ExxonMobil’s current business model in a rapidly changing world.”

So glad to see this. It was just a matter of time, but speaking of time, we don’t have an unlimited amount of it before we face ecological collapse.

It seems that most arenas of human endeavor are finding themselves in a similar situation. We’ve reached the limits of sustainability, and a certain group is splitting off from the mainstream, pointing out that business as usual will bring failure for everyone.

And this is as true in politics as it is in business. Witness the schism occurring within the Republican party. Yes, right now it seems like the party of Trump, but with each passing day, more Republicans are saying, “Look. This is simply not going to work. Trump lost an election in which there was essentially no fraud. To pretend otherwise is going to pull us all down.”

We’re at a watershed moment. Human life on this planet is going to take one course or another. Let’s hope it’s the right one, and that it happens soon.