BP, Unilever and Volkswagen among firms facing investor challenge over climate change policy

They have been urged to consider their links to lobbying organisations that might not be complying with the Paris Agreement on climate change

Some of the world’s biggest companies are being challenged over climate change by a group of influential investors which includes the Church of England Pensions Board.

Firms including BP, Rio Tinto and Volkswagen are facing calls to reconsider their ties to lobbying organisations whose climate change policies do not match up to the Paris Agreement targets.

Investors have written to 55 companies, asking them to “review the lobbying positions being adopted by the organisations of which you are a member”, particularly any groups that might oppose progressive climate change policies.

Unilever, Nestle and Rolls-Royce were also approached.

The 55 firms have been chosen due to their high greenhouse gas emissions and “significant role in energy-intensive sectors”, investors said. The decision to take action on “back-door” lobbying comes weeks after the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that greenhouse gas emissions must be cut almost in half by 2030 to avert a global environmental catastrophe.

Under current climate commitments by world leaders, the Earth will be 3C warmer by the end of the century, according to the IPCC’s report.

The worst effects of global warming – including the total loss of every coral reef, the disappearance of Arctic ice and the destruction of island communities – will only be avoided if the global temperature increase stays below 1.5C. Scientists think this figure will be exceeded within around 20 years.

Adam Matthews, of the Church of England Pensions Board, said: “Misleading and misaligned corporate lobbying practices undermine the ability of governments to act on climate change and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The influence of trade associations is often exerted behind closed doors and can be deeply insidious to public policymaking on climate change.

“As the recent report from the IPCC clearly highlighted, the stakes are high and time is against us. It is therefore right that investors are challenging Europe’s most high-emitting companies to ensure consistency in their lobbying practices.”

Stephanie Pfeifer, chief executive of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, said: “Long-term investors have a clear interest in the Paris Agreement being implemented to support the necessary transition to a low-carbon global economy. Shareholders should rightly expect companies in which they invest to advocate for the climate policy required for this to happen. This includes ensuring the trade bodies of which they are members are working to the same end.