United Airlines Holdings, Inc. | Loss and Damage Fund for Climate Harms

Status
Filed
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
UAL
Lead filer
Individual
Resolution ask
Other ask
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Net Zero / Paris aligned
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Industrials
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED shareholders request that United Airlines issue a report within 12 months of the AGM assessing whether there may be material impacts on the company’s finances or operations from any aviation fees related to the global Loss and Damages Fund, in consideration of the Company’s potential proportional share of aviation related impacts on developing nations and any company plans for participation in related mitigation and remediation efforts as well as the ongoing process for determining contributions by other parties to the Loss and Damages Fund. The report should be produced at reasonable cost and exclude proprietary or privileged information.
Whereas clause
WHEREAS, even with United Airlines’ leadership, the aviation industry remains one of the world's largest carbon-emitters and United continues to contribute to the significant harms caused by climate change.
At COP 27, a group of 134 African, Asian and Latin American states and small island nations won global agreement to set up a Loss and Damage Fund to pay to repair devastated property, move threatened communities or preserve cultural heritage before it vanishes.1 These Global South states are the most impacted and yet least responsible for the growing climate related harms.
Operationalizing the fund will begin at COP28 and this step presents an opportunity for our company to take the lead in the Aviation industry’s participation in the fund and in planning for the likely impacts of regulations or fees related to such a fund on United. A recent United Nation’s report details the economic challenges presented by climate change and notes2
Since the financial needs for addressing loss and damage are likely to grow significantly in the future, exploring innovative sources of finance (such as marine shipping levies, aviation levies, taxation, debt relief, debt swaps and special drawing rights) besides grants, insurance and concessional loans will be essential to reach the necessary scale.
Timely analysis and planning for such requirements would enable United to gain the respect and reputational advantage of leading the response to increasing climate change and to prepare in advance for the potential costs and revenue implications of these developments.
Supporting statement
1 https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/tensions-soar-over-new-fund-climate-loss-damage-ahead-cop28-2023-10-23/
2 https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/43865/AGR23_ESEN.pdf?sequence=8

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