Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) says it will support a shareholder resolution that urges Glencore, the mining and commodity company, to disclose how its thermal coal production aligns with Paris Agreement objectives.
The resolution will also ask the company how it aims to align associated capital expenditure.
Allianz GI said a lack of transparency meant the asset manager could not support Glencore management’s proposed climate plan.
Matt Christensen, global head of sustainable and impact investing at AllianzGI, said the vote would be cast by proxy.
AllianzGI believes that “given the material contributions of the thermal coal portfolio to the wider business, it is imperative to understand the degree to which Glencore is exposed to transition risk”.
Glencore has made progress in recent years in areas such as managing methane emissions, better transparency and the firm’s approach to a Just Transition, Allianz GI said.
Further information about Paris alignment would provide AllianzGI with “valuable information to enhance our understanding of the company’s long-term value creation paradigm”.
The asset manager said mining of thermal coal poses a risk of high impact on biodiversity because coal mines may be located near high biodiversity areas and, therefore, could disturb the degree to which ecosystems remain intact.
In a separate development, MSCI published its latest Net-Zero Tracker, which shows the time left to limit global warming has reduced again, even though more public companies have increased their commitments to curb climate change.
The research found that 44% of listed companies have now set decarbonisation targets, which is 8 percentage points more than last year, but only 17% of climate targets align with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement and less than a third (30%) are actually aiming to reach net-zero emissions.
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