SEC Signals Tougher Line With Conoco, Occidental on Climate: FT

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has told ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum to hold shareholder votes on new emissions targets, Financial Times reported, citing a letter the SEC sent to ConocoPhillips that the publication has seen.

The SEC denied requests from both companies to dismiss shareholder motions that would require them to discuss in detail their plans for cutting their “Scope 3” emissions. The two oil companies said the proposals looked to micromanage their operations but the SEC said it was “unable to concur” with this argument, the FT reported.

“In our view, the proposal does not seek to micromanage the company to such a degree that exclusion of the proposal would be appropriate,” the SEC wrote to ConocoPhillips. This is the first time that the SEC denied requests by oil and gas companies to exclude votes on Scope 3, unidentified activists told FT.

ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum and the SEC didn’t respond to FT’s requests for comment.

SEC Signals Tougher Rules for Corporate Climate Disclosures

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