Exxon not into climate change talk
Exxon Mobil shareholders are holding their annual meeting in Dallas today, where some will push for a focus on climate change. But some shareholders think they should only concentrate on making money. Jeff Tyler has more.
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Exxon Mobil holds its annual shareholders meeting in Dallas today. It’d great fun to be a fly on the wall. Descendants of company founder John D. Rockefeller will push for the company to focus on climate change. Other shareholders want Exxon to do nothing of the sort. Marketplace’s Jeff Tyler reports.
Jeff Tyler: The first of 17 shareholder proposals takes aim at anyone who wants Exxon to do anything but make money.
Steve Milloy: It is not a charity. It is a business.
That’s Steve Milloy with the Free Enterprise Action Fund:
Milloy: The purpose of Exxon is to create wealth for society. It’s one of our society’s premier wealth-creation machines.
Milloy points to Exxon’s high stock price and its healthy dividends as examples of what the company should do. He says addressing global warming should not be on the company’s agenda.
Milloy: Investing has become politicized. As various social and political activists have had a hard time getting their agendas through Congress, they’ve decided to hijack American corporations.
To fight back, Milloy wants to put a muzzle on so-called “activists.” His proposal would prevent shareholder advisory resolutions at Exxon’s annual meetings.
I’m Jeff Tyler for Marketplace.