BP must take heed of a significant vote at its Annual General Meeting today on a Greenpeace resolution calling for the company to take seriously the threats of climate change on fossil fuel investments and protect its shareholders financial future earnings by investing in renewable energy.
Today's initial proxy vote, displayed at the meeting today, showed 919 million shares, or 7.4 per cent of the vote, in favour of the resolution. Votes of the shareholders attending today's meeting have yet to be counted.
Greenpeace climate campaigner Stephanie Tunmore said:
"The BP Board of Directors can no longer ignore its own shareholders' conviction that the company is responsible for climate change and that this could undermine the future worth of its shares. The company must now begin to move out of fossil fuels and into renewable energy."
Resolution sponsor Sister Pat Daly, of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell in the USA, said:
"We need BP to be the leader that it claims to be, but it needs to match its words with actions. BP must spell out in black and white, for all its shareholders and all those affected by its company policy, what it means by 'Beyond Petroleum'."
Tunmore added:
"International moves to regulate the use of fossil fuels and the burgeoning market in clean energy technologies will impact on BP's business. If the company wants to remain a profitable energy company in the future business as usual is not an option."
The Greenpeace resolution called on the BP Board to publish a report by the end of 2001, to include quantified targets and clear time-scales for switching from oil to renewable energy. The resolution is also supported by US socially responsible investor, Trillium Asset Management Corporation, US Public Interest Research Group, World Wildlife Fund.
Notes to Editors:
Sister Pat Daly, who moved the Greenpeace resolution, represents 275 faith-based institutions holding US$100 billion in investments.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace Press office: 020 7865 8255/85
