U.S. Companies See Climate Risk But Lobby Against Policy Fixes

摘要

While more than 80% of the largest U.S. companies have set emissions reduction goals, less than half engaged with lawmakers to advocate for science-based climate policies — and morethan 20% have lobbied against them, according to report released Tuesday by sustainability nonprofit Ceres.“Claiming credit for making operational climate change commitments while undermining the necessary policy measures to achieve those very commitments poses significant reputationaland financial risks to companies,” the report’s authors wrote.Ceres’s analysis comes as climate concerns are playing a larger role in capital markets and shareholder actions. So far this year, companies around the globe have issued $297 billion ingreen bonds, a 152% increase year-over-year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Shareholders also have been increasingly forceful in demanding change, including from fossil fueltitans Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., which were each the target of successful resolutions demanding climate-conscious changes to corporate strategy.