Majority Action's Proxy Voting or a 1.5 degree world -

2023 was the hottest year on record by a large margin, and January 2024 was the hottest January on record. Yet, 2023 will be one of the coolest years over the coming decades unless the global energy system immediately begins a transition to net zero emissions in line with the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5°C.

The path to 1.5°C has narrowed but remains open. In September 2023, the International Energy Agency (IEA) published an updated version of the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario (NZE) that accounts for the latest shifts in technologies, markets, and policies since the NZE’s initial 2021 publication. The 2023 NZE scenario lays out a cost-effective and economically productive scenario for the energy sector to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, thereby leaving open the possibility of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Under this scenario, as clean energy expands and fossil fuel demand declines, there is no need for investment in new coal, oil, or natural gas. Furthermore, emissions in advanced economies must collectively decline by 80% by 2035 from 2022 levels.

When companies fail to transform operations and business models in line with a 1.5°C pathway, responsible shareholders must use their most powerful tool—proxy voting on corporate board elections—to hold directors accountable. To help investors exercise this power, Majority Action evaluates the climate disclosures of industry laggards in the energy, utilities, and financial services sectors against widely accepted benchmarks and issues company-specific vote guidance against directors and board leadership responsible for climate oversight at corporations that have failed in the critical areas of target setting, capital expenditure alignment, and policy engagement alignment.

https://www.proxyvoting.majorityaction.us/