Barclays Shareholders Vote to Support U.K. Bank’s Climate Plan

(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc shareholders overwhelmingly supported the proposal to cut its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero and voted against a potentially more stringent alternative plan put forward by some of its investors.

At the bank’s annual general meeting on Thursday, 99.93% of shareholders gave their support to the plan to go “net zero” by 2050, the bank said in a statement on Thursday. A separate proposal, which was coordinated by the investor activist group ShareAction and backed by money managers at Amundi SA and Jupiter Asset Management, called for the phase-out of financing activities to the most carbon-intensive energy companies. It received 23.95% support.

The vote could go down as a milestone event because it’s the first climate change resolution at a European bank, and demonstrates how banks’ contribution to global warming remains a top priority for investors. It also showed how shareholders can force banks and other large corporations to use their vast resources to combat climate change and other social ills.

“Today’s result shows the value of shareholder engagement with banks on climate change,” said Faith Ward, the London-based chief responsible investment officer at Brunel Pension Partnership. “This resolution came about as a direct result of intensive shareholder engagement over the past year, including the first-ever shareholder climate resolution at a major European bank.”

While Brunel was among firms that filed the shareholder resolution and had hoped to see both proposals pass, Ward said the shareholder resolution got more than 20% support, which means it surpassed a threshold that requires Barclays to consult with shareholders and explain the views received and actions taken publicly within six months.

The shareholder resolution was put forward in January and urged Barclays to say how it will phase out financing for energy companies that don’t align with the Paris Agreement’s climate goals. As a growing number of investors pledged to support the resolution, Barclays in March put forward its own net- zero alternative, which ShareAction criticized for leaving unanswered questions about the bank’s financing activities in the short term.

Catherine Howarth, chief executive of ShareAction, said today’s votes send “an unequivocal signal not just to the board of Barclays but to the entire global banking sector that all banks must start to phase out” fossil-fuel financing.

“Today’s voting results will send shock waves through the banking industry,” Howarth said. “While Barclays is Europe’s largest fossil-fuel financier, it is far from being the only bank to prop up companies that are driving the climate crisis.”

Barclays provided more than 100 billion pounds ($123 billion) of funds to fossil-fuel companies since the Paris climate accord was signed, according to data compiled by Rainforest Action Network, which includes information gathered from Bloomberg.

For some, London-based Barclays hasn’t gone far enough to change its trajectory.

“Rather than backing a resolution that set out a clear pathway for Barclays to finally end its vast contribution to the climate emergency, the bank chose to hoodwink both shareholders and the public with an alternative option -- one with distant targets and no substance,”said Rosie Rogers, Greenpeace U.K.’s head of climate finance. “There is nothing wrong with a net-zero target but, without details of how it will get there, Barclays’s ambition is all show and no go.”

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