WASHINGTON, DC, January 27, 2003 (ENS) - The five largest carbon dioxide (CO2) emitters among U.S. electric power companies are all facing global warming and other pollution related shareholder resolutions.

American Electric Power, Southern Company, Xcel Energy Inc., TXU Corporation, and Cinergy Corporation will all have to address resolutions announced earlier this month by a coalition of shareholders that includes the State of Connecticut Plans and Trust Fund and members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) including the Presbyterian Church.

"Investors need the full picture to assess companies' long term investment value," said Connecticut state treasurer Denise Nappier, explaining her fund's interest in disclosure and reduction of portfolio company emissions.

American Electric Power's Zimmer Coal Plant in Moscow, Ohio (Photo courtesy R&S)

"Air pollutant emissions are some of the most measurable, relevant, and significant indicators of risk for this particular industry, and it's our responsibility to ask what the company's plans are to address that risk," Nappier added.

"We're also concerned about the risks to investors global warming itself may bring, and think it's important that our portfolio companies are not contributing to the problem," she said.

The coordinated action reflects a growing concern among pension funds about the hidden risks involved in industries that contribute to global warming. The shareholder resolutions focus on the potential risks to shareholders posed by the five utilities' production of C02, the primary greenhouse gas emission linked to global warming.

The resolutions ask that the companies report to their shareholders on "(a) the economic risks associated with the Company's past, present, and future emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and mercury emissions, and the public stance of the company regarding efforts to reduce these emissions and (b) the economic benefits of committing to a substantial reduction of those emissions related to its current business activities (i.e. potential improvement in competitiveness and profitability)."

The simultaneous filings were coordinated by ICCR and CERES, a coalition of investors, environmental organizations, and public interest groups.

"The failure of the U.S. government to set standards is already creating a climate of business uncertainty. It creates a situation where the companies are vulnerable to the whims of state regulation, or even litigation costs as suits are brought against the largest emitters," said CERES Executive Director Robert Massie. "Those companies that haven't invested in renewables and other cleaner technologies will be hit the hardest." Robert Massie (Photo courtesy OECD)

Based in Boston, CERES is a U.S. coalition of environmental, investor, and advocacy groups working together for a sustainable future. They include companies that have committed to continuous environmental improvement by endorsing the CERES Principles, a 10 point code of environmental conduct.

Jim Newland, chairperson of the Mission Responsibility Through Investments Committee of the Presbyterian Church USA, said shareholders, "need to know now where a utility will stand down the road when there are federal regulations in place."

"If the company has not made the right amount of progress toward investing in alternative sources it will be extremely expensive and detrimental to stockholder return to adapt at that point," Newland noted. "This information is all part of the company's financial risk picture and it's important for shareholders to have."

At least one of the companies is working towards renewable energy sources for the future. Because there is a lack of sufficient wind and geothermal sources in the southeastern United States, Southern Company has chosen to develop solar capacity. The company has a new program called EarthCents Solar through which customers can choose to express their support of environmentally friendly technologies by purchasing one or more blocks of solar energy.

For a full text of the shareholder resolution, go to: http://www.hastingsgroup.com/FilthyFiveUtilities.html

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved.