December, 09 2019, 11:00pm EDT
Judge Ruling in Exxon Case 'Sends a Very Dangerous Signal to Companies'
BERKELEY, CA
A New York judge today ruled that ExxonMobil was not guilty of misleading investors when it stated to investors that it used one cost of carbon in approving oil and gas projects, while using different and lower costs.
"The judge's ruling is inexplicable," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. "When a company says one thing and does another, red flags should be flying in the investment community and in the courts. Discounting the critical importance of providing clear, accurate, and reliable material information to investors sends a very dangerous signal to companies and the investing community at large."
In 2014, As You Sow and Arjuna Capital Management filed a shareholder resolution at ExxonMobil asking the company for a report on the risk of stranded assets due to climate change related factors. In the negotiations following, Exxon agreed to provide a report which formed part of the basis of the lawsuit by the New York Attorney General's Office alleging the company made misleading statements to investors about how it assessed climate risk.
The report concluded, on its first page that, "We are confident that none of our hydrocarbon reserves are now or will become 'stranded.'" This was prior to Exxon writing down 19.3 percent of its oil reserves in high-carbon tar sands in Canada.
"The ruling in the case, finding that there were no material misstatements, is a disappointment to investors that have continuously asked for honest disclosure from the company on the critically important issue of climate risk," said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow.
The Attorney General's case highlights the importance of climate risk to investors and of providing accurate information to investors.
As You Sow is the nation's non-profit leader in shareholder advocacy. Founded in 1992, we harness shareholder power to create lasting change that benefits people, planet, and profit. Our mission is to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.
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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" by Israel's "recent and extensive violations of Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," including a ground invasion and airstrikes carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in the war-torn Mideastern nation.
Guterres "is particularly concerned over the hundreds of Israeli airstrikes on several locations in Syria" and has stressed the "urgent need to de-escalate violence on all fronts throughout the country," said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.
Israel claims its invasion and bombardment of Syria—which come as the United States and Turkey have also violated Syrian sovereignty with air and ground attacks—are meant to create a security buffer along the countries' shared border in the wake of last week's fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and amid the IDF's ongoing assault on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 162,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case.
While Israel argues that its invasion of Syria does not violate a 1974 armistice agreement between the two countries because the Assad dynasty no longer rules the neighboring nation, Dujarric said Guterres maintains that Israel must uphold its obligations under the deal, "including by ending all unauthorized presence in the area of separation and refraining from any action that would undermine the cease-fire and stability in Golan."
Israel conquered the western two-thirds of the Golan Heights in 1967 and has illegally occupied it ever since, annexing the seized lands in 1981.
Other countries including France, Russia, and Saudi Arabia have criticized Israel's invasion, while the United States defended the move.
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Addressing the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and conversations it has sparked about the country's for-profit system, longtime Medicare for All advocate Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday condemned the murder and stressed that getting to universal coverage will require a movement challenging corporate money in politics.
"Look, when we talk about the healthcare crisis, in my view, and I think the view of a majority of Americans, the current system is broken, it is dysfunctional, it is cruel, and it is wildly inefficient—far too expensive," said Sanders (I-Vt.), whose position is backed up by various polls.
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"The way we're going to bring about the kind of fundamental changes we need in healthcare is, in fact, by a political movement which understands the government has got to represent all of us, not just the 1%," the senator told Jacobin.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—a co-sponsor of Sanders' Medicare for All Act—similarly toldHuffPost in a Tuesday interview, "The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the healthcare system."
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