Daily ESG Briefing: UK pension body backs vote against entire Exxon board over climate

The UK's Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has advised its members, which represent billions in public pension money, to oppose the re-election of Exxon's entire board at the company's AGM today, on climate grounds. Citing the oil giant's move to block a shareholder proposal tabled by members of Climate Action 100+ – an investor engagement initiative that LAPFF collaborates on – the body said Exxon's “ongoing resistance to supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change is unacceptable”. It also recommended that its members support resolutions at Exxon on lobbying, the creation of an independent chair position and transparency over its operations in the Gulf Coast.

Amundi, Credit Agricole and CNP Assurances have become the latest signatories to the Tobacco-Free Finance Pledge, the flagship initiative from not-for-profit Tobacco Free Portfolios. 137 leading financial organisations representing $10trn have now signed up to implement tobacco-free finance policies.

Massachusetts State Legislators have called on Boston-based insurance company Liberty Mutual to cut ties with fossil fuel projects and companies. An open letter to the company’s CEO, David Long, has been signed by 34 state senators and representatives calling for the insurance sector to accelerate its role in a transition to a low-carbon economy. Liberty Mutual is currently insuring the controversial Keystone XL and Trans Mountain tar sands pipelines. 

Taiwanese futures exchange TAIFEX is collaborating with FTSE Russell and Taiwan Index Corp to launch FTSE4GOODTIP Futures, covering contracts based on the ESG standards used by the FTSE4GOOD index series.

Research by Refinitiv has found that nearly $47.7bn in green and ESG-linked loans have come to market so far this year. Almost $48.3bn of green and sustainability-linked bonds have come to market over the same period, representing an 11% drop year-on-year.