Investors Call for the Decarbonization of Electric Utilities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Stefanie Spear, [email protected], 216-387-1609

Oakland, CA—Feb. 28, 2019—Today, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer launched a Net Zero Utility Decarbonization Initiative on behalf of an investor coalition representing $1.69 trillion in assets. The initiative calls on U.S. utilities to adopt particular recommendations in advance of their 2020 proxy statements.

A report was also released today by the Climate Majority Project emphasizing the need for deep decarbonization of the utility sector and the associated risks and opportunities.

Lila Holzman, energy program manager of As You Sow, had this to say about the new initiative and report:

“As investors, we fully support this call to action for utilities to step up their climate-related commitments to the level demanded by science. The power sector is undergoing a critical and rapid transition period as market forces push for a clean energy economy. While we hope to see utilities thrive by taking bold action on climate, the current plans and commitments of many utilities fall short of what is needed to align with a Paris-compliant future, exposing companies and their investors to significant climate risk including from stranded assets, physical damage to infrastructure, loss of social license to operate, and customer defection, among others. We believe this new push by investors will drive utilities toward adopting the necessary level of action.”

For more information on As You Sow’s work on climate change, click here.

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As You Sow is a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Click here to see As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.