ExxonMobil loses to shareholder rebellion on climate change disclosure

ExxonMobil failed to fend off a shareholder rebellion over climate change, as investors with 62.3 percent of shares voted to instruct the oil giant to report on the impact of global measures designed to keep climate change to 2 degrees centigrade.

Although the identity of voters wasn't disclosed, a source familiar with the vote said that major financial advisory consultant BlackRock had cast its shares in opposition to Exxon management and that Vanguard and State Street likely had done the same. All three financial giants have been openly considering casting their votes against management on this key proxy resolution at the annual meeting Wednesday.

BlackRock and Vanguard are the biggest shareholders in ExxonMobil, owning 13 percent, or $43.6 billion worth, of the company's stock. A vote by them against management marked an important step for groups that have been trying to force corporations to adopt greater disclosure and transparency about the financial fallout of climate change.

BlackRock, which said that climate disclosure is one of its top priorities, had warned on its website that 'our patience is not infinite.”

'This is an unprecedented victory for investors in the fight to ensure a smooth transition to a low carbon economy,” said New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, a trustee of the New York Common Retirement Fund. 'Climate change is one of the greatest long-term risks we face in our portfolio and has direct impact on the core business of ExxonMobil.”