Exxon to disclose climate policy impact on business

ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly-traded oil company, bowed to investor pressure and will soon begin disclosing how policies to combat climate change could impact its business, according to a document filed with US regulators.

The move follows the decisive victory of a shareholder proposal in May, which called on Exxon to examine how the fight against global warming could affect the company's bottom line.

The board of directors of the Irving, Texas-based company has opposed the measure but announced that "in the near future" it will publish the estimated impact of climate policies, according to a statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

"These enhancements will include energy demand sensitivities, implications of two degree Celsius scenarios and positioning for a lower-carbon future," the statement said, referring to the Paris agreement to cap the increase in global temperatures.

The announcement comes as more than 50 world leaders and dozens of ministers met for talks at the One Planet Summit in Paris on Tuesday to find practical ways to address the climate change.

ExxonMobil has faced federal and state probes into allegations it deceived investors by understating the climate change risk.

Internal documents unearthed by InsideClimate News showed the company's calculations showed capping global temperature increases at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) would require steep cuts in fossil fuel emissions, potentially affecting the Exxon's growth prospects.

The company has denied allegations it knowingly fostered a campaign of disinformation on climate change over several decades and suppressed internal research pointing to its dangers.

Exxon in January named the noted climate scientist Susan Avery to its board and later urged President Donald Trump not to withdraw from the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, which Trump nevertheless announced in June.

© 2017 AFP