This archive report was first published on 9 January 2020.
Published on January 9, 2020, a group of Barclays shareholders, coordinated by ShareAction, have taken formal action at the bank's annual general meeting, asking it to phase out its financing of fossil fuel companies driving the climate crisis.
Eleven institutional investors managing over £130 billion ($170.6 billion, 153 billion euros) have joined forces with more than 100 individual shareholders to file the resolution, which will be voted on in May.
ShareAction, a UK-based pressure group, said the resolution requests that Barclays publishes a plan to gradually stop providing financial services to companies in the energy sector and gas and electric utilities not aligned with the Paris climate agreement.
Companies are under increasing pressure to help cut carbon emissions, following Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg's efforts to bring the climate emergency into the mainstream.
Bank of England head Mark Carney has also urged companies to move faster on climate action, including disclosing climate risk from their operations.
Since the Paris Agreement in 2015, Barclays has financed fossil fuel companies and high-carbon projects with over $85 billion (about Sh8.63 trillion), making it the world's sixth-largest backer of fossil fuels.
Barclays responded to ShareAction's statement, saying it is working to help tackle climate change and meets with the group and other shareholders regularly to update them on its progress.
