NEW YORK–The nation’s big money center banks are feeling more pressure to stop supporting fossil fuels.
Shareholders at Citi, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo voted 12.8%, 11%, and 11%, respectively, in support the resolutions that banks end their support for new fossil fuel development, according to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
Any resolution that receives at least 5% of the vote is eligible to be refiled next year, and anything that receives 10% or more is considered “difficult for a company to ignore,” according to the organization.
In addition, 34% of shareholders at Citi and 26% at Wells Fargo voted in favor of resolutions urging the banks to improve their policies relating to Indigenous Peoples rights, including the internationally recognized right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Banks ‘Complicit’
“In recent years, banks have been complicit in high-profile violations of Indigenous Peoples rights to FPIC by funding numerous new fossil fuel projects, such as the Line 3, Dakota Access and Trans Mountain pipelines,” the ICCR stated.
The ICCR further stated that in recent years shareholder resolutions filed at top U.S. banks have called for firms to disclose the scale of their financed emissions and to set long-term climate targets.
“This year’s first-of-their-kind resolutions went further by calling on the banks to put credible plans in place to achieve those long-term targets,” the ICCR said. “Specifically, the resolutions call for banks to adopt policies by the end of 2022 committing to proactive measures to ensure that their lending and underwriting do not contribute to new fossil fuel development.”
Pension Funds Weigh In
The resolutions were publicly supported by New York State Common Retirement Fund, the third largest pension fund in the country, as well as three of New York City’s pensions and Rhode Island’s and Seattle’s funds.
“However, the vote totals suggest that major asset managers like BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, and Fidelity — which are by far the largest shareholders of the big banks, and are therefore in a position of unique responsibility on important votes – failed to support them, despite their own net-zero commitments and pledges to use their shareholder power to advance climate action,” the organization added.
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