Environmental Leader

U.S. investors have filed 54 global warming shareholder resolutions with U.S. companies, nearly doubling the number filed two years ago.Companies targeted in the 2008 proxy season include Dynegy in the electric power sector, Massey Energyin the coal sector, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips in oil and gas sectors, U.S. Airways in the airline sector and Standard Pacific in the building sector.

Resolutions were filed by public pension funds, as well as labor, foundation, religious and other institutional investors. Many of the investors are part of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), an alliance of 60 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $5 trillion.

Fourteen of the 54 resolutions were withdrawn by investors after the companies agreed to disclose potential impacts from emerging climate regulations and strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Four of the withdrawals involved electric power companies – Allegheny Energy, Alliant Energy, Dominion Resources and Southern – which were all asked to report on their strategies to significantly boost energy efficiency as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Resolutions have also been withdrawn from Continental, El Paso, Harley Davidson, KB Home , Lowes, Ryder, Big Lots, Parkway Propertiesand Kirby Corp.

Last year, 43 climate-related shareholder resolutions were filed with US companies, of which 15 led to positive actions by businesses such as ConocoPhillips, Wells Fargo and Hartford Insurance. Shareholders withdrew their resolutions against these companies after they made climate-related commitments, although ConocoPhillips has found itself on Ceres’ list again..

See the full list of this year’s resolutions here.