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Pressure is mounting on global commodities giant Glencore over its carbon footprint. Some major investors are calling the Swiss group to account on the consistency between its thermal coal production and its climate commitments.
« Glencore continues to invest in thermal coal as its competitors withdraw from this polluting material “, regrets this group of investors which represents more than 2,000 billion euros in assets under management. Among them are financial heavyweights like HSBC Asset Management, the management arm of British banking giant HSBC. They are asking Glencore, via a shareholder resolution, to explain how its strategy in coal production is consistent with the Paris agreement, which requires limiting global warming to a level well below 2 degrees Celsius.
This is the first time that group investors have filed such a resolution. An important step, because Glencore will be obliged to respond at the annual general meeting of shareholders. Last year, almost a quarter of them had already rejected his climate plan. Its commitments, such as its strategy to halve its coal production by 2035, did not convince them.
The noose is therefore tightening around the Swiss giant whose coal remains the most profitable activity. With more than 100 million tons of coal produced per year, Glencore is the largest producer and exporter of this ore in the world. In the first nine months of 2022, the group produced around 89 million tonnes, an increase of 7% compared to the same period in 2021.
In the first half of last year, Glencore saw its net profit explode to more than 12 billion dollars thanks to soaring coal and oil prices.
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