Oil and gas giant BP has committed to formulating long-term climate ambitions following pressure from Dutch funds ABP, SPW, bpfBOUW and the investor group Climate Action 100+.

BP follows Shell, who tightened its climate policy after increasing pressure from shareholders after the action group filed a climate resolution which will be voted over at the company’s shareholder meeting.

The resolution asks BP to commit to formulating a strategy which is in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, framing climate ambitions and goals for the short, middle and long term, and an annual report on this.

In a statement, ABP’s asset manager APG said senior executives of the British oil and gas company support the resolution, which is a breakthrough as BP has been reluctant for years, according to APG responsible investment and governance Lucian Peppelenbos.

“BP just appointed a new chairman, who clearly does understand the importance of a climate policy in which BP defines its future as a company within the energy transition. The new chairman prefers a resolution over a joint statement, because of its binding nature,” Peppelenbos said.

“Perhaps BP executives will provide additional mandate internally for a strategy that demonstrably contributes to the Paris Agreement. That commitment is the largest progress we will gain through the resolution.”

The over 300 investors in the Climate Action 100+ group represent more than $32trn in assets and focus on influencing 161 companies that together represent 80 per cent of global CO2 emissions.

BP’s resolution does not go as far as Shell’s agreement, who committed to short, middle and long-term goals, while BP only set long-term goals, combined with measureable targets for its own CO2 emissions in the short run.

Peppelenbos said: “This resolution is also a signal to other companies. We will also ask this climate policy from them: formulating ambitions for the long term, translated into concrete and measurable goals for the short term, connected to reward policies and structural progress reports.

“We will continue the dialogue on this. Many companies’ current strategies end in 2020. In the new strategies, climate has to play an even more prominent role. Not only for oil and gas companies, but also for companies in other industries, such as mining, chemistry or food.”

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