The nation’s largest public pension fund is coming under pressure to limit its investments in Exxon Mobil over the oil giant’s climate strategy, including its recent lawsuit against climate-concerned investors.
Advocates made that demand of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System during a Monday board meeting
A coalition of labor unions, community organizations and environmental groups welcomed CalPERS’s vote last month against all 12 of Exxon’s board members. But they said the $495 billion pension fund shouldn’t stop there.
At the very least, they said CalPERS should refuse to purchase any new Exxon bonds, which oil and gas companies increasingly rely on to generate new capital. The move would limit the fund’s exposure to the company moving forward — and make it clear that CalPERS expects major emitters to take climate change seriously, including by implementing credible strategies to reduce their planet-warming emissions.
