Shareholder activists have withdrawn a proposal calling on ExxonMobil to step up its efforts to slash emissions after the top US oil producer went to court to stop them.
Investment company Arjuna Capital and Dutch activist group Follow This, who were seeking a shareholder vote on a motion urging ExxonMobil to extend its modest climate goals and target more ambitious Scope 3 emissions, said they pulled the proposal in light of the lawsuit.
"Now that we have withdrawn and promised not to refile the proposal with Exxon, the company has no reason to continue the lawsuit," said Mark van Baal, the founder of the group.
Arjuna Capital accused the company of "circumventing" the shareholder proposal process by pursuing litigation to silence climate-minded investors.
"Not only is the company side-stepping a critical corporate accountability mechanism that has upheld shareholder freedoms for decades, this amounts to tactics of intimidation and bullying," said Natasha Lamb, chief investment officer at Arjuna Capital.
Despite the proposal being withdrawn, ExxonMobil said there were no changes to its plans in relation to the lawsuit. "We believe there are still important issues for the court to resolve," the company said in a statement.
In a Texas court filing last month, ExxonMobil accused the two parties of being driven by an "extreme agenda" to promote shareholder proposals intended to "diminish" the company's existing business. It also criticized a "flawed shareholder proposal and proxy voting process" by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Support for climate motions has waned since ExxonMobil suffered a rare defeat at the hands of activists in 2021 which resulted in the ousting of a quarter of its board.
