Equinor is the latest large oil company to bow to a major investor group that is pushing corporations to take more robust action on climate change.
The Norwegian giant has agreed to align its business model with the goals of the 2015 Paris climate accord and will review its corporate lobbying policy and the carbon intensity of its products, the company said in a statementon 24 April. It will also link executive pay to climate-related targets.
The action was taken after several investors from a coalition called Climate Action 100+, whose members together oversee about $33 trillion, pushed Equinor to take a bigger role in tackling global warming. While the group acknowledged the Norwegian oil company is one of the more progressive in the industry on climate change, investors overall have become much tougher on fossil fuel producers as the world transitions to lower-carbon fuels.
One of companies’ key fears is a mass exodus of capital, and that is felt especially sharply in Equinor’s home in Scandinavia. The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, earlier said it will pull some investments in oil companies to hedge financial risks. Additionally, the region is home to Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg, who led a massive student walk-out related to climate in March.
Energy Transition
“We see our low carbon strategy as a competitive advantage which creates long-term value for our shareholders,” Equinor Chief Executive Officer Eldar Saetre said in the statement. “The actions we announce today make us even more competitive in the energy transition and support the goals of the Paris Agreement.”
Climate Action 100+ formed in late 2017 mainly to push the largest corporate greenhouse-gas emitters to change their businesses. So far members have motivated fossil fuel companies including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Glencore to make concessions around climate.
The lead investors negotiating with Equinor included UBS Asset Management, HSBC Asset Management, and Norwegian fund manager Storebrand Asset Management.