The Climate-Change Debate -- Coming to a Shareholder Meeting Near You

(MoneyWatch)  Shareholders are increasingly worried about how climate change -- and regulation aimed at stopping it -- will effect the profitability and long-term growth of the companies they've invested in. And now, thanks to new SEC rules, investors are pushing companies more than ever before to disclose and manage climate-related risks.

Shareholder resolutions can give us great insight into what's bugging investors in any given year. Last year, in the wake of a recession, compensation and bonuses were biggies. But this year, it's all about climate change. Investors filed a record 95 climate-change shareholder resolutions with 82 U.S. and Canadian companies as part of the 2010 proxy season, according to a report by Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmentalists. That's 40 percent more than the 2009 proxy season, an increase driven by shrewd investors who want companies to consider the consequences of climate-change legislation and regulation.

Investors have wanted companies to disclose climate risks for some time. But the SEC didn't require companies to share kind of information, leaving investors powerless -- until now. The SEC issued guidance in January directing publicly traded companies to disclose climate-related effects on business operations. And this is just the beginning. Many shareholder resolutions were filed prior to the new SEC guidance, which means we could see even greater numbers next year, especially if Congress manages to pass climate-change legislation.

Investors have little interest in debating climate science, but do have a strong interest in business trends that will affect companies in their investment portfolios. Climate change is such a trend," said Maryland State Treasurer Nancy Kopp, in a recent release from Ceres.

The shareholder resolutions stood out for their decidedly this-is-about-protecting-the-business tone. Sure, there were still the standard calls for sound environmental practices and protecting indigenous populations. But the majority took a hard-nosed focus on how best to navigate companies through environmental and policy uncertainty, a tactic that gives investors more credibility when it comes time to vote on the resolution. Oil companies ConocoPhillips (COP), Chevron (CVX) and coal producer Massey Energy (MEE) were among the companies that received resolutions. Although there were numerous other non-oil, gas and coal companies in the mix as well. Investors in food giant General Mills (GIS), Proctor & Gamble (PG), Sara Lee (SLE) and Best Buy (BBY) also filed climate-related resolutions. Exxon's investors were especially motivated and filed six different resolutions that covered the risk of oil sands, adoption of climate-change principles, goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from operations and the risk of lower fossil fuel demands.

The debate over climate change science also has turned up in some unlikely places, like Apple's (AAPL) annual shareholder meeting last month. Al Gore, the company's most famous board member next to maybe CEO Steve Jobs, managed to kick off a contentious debate about climate change without uttering a word. His mere presence was maddening enough for one shareholder to publicly urge against his re-election to the board.

Gore has become a laughingstock. The glaciers have not melted. If his advice he gives to Apple is as faulty as his views on the environment then he doesn't need to be re-elected.

Gore never spoke to his own defense, although a number of other shareholders did and he was successfully re-elected to the board.

And expect the call from investors to get louder. Climate-change legislation, the EPA's intention to regulate greenhouse gas emissions -- not to mention efforts to do the same internationally -- will change what companies do and who invests in them.

Photo of protest outside the Royal Bank of Canada's annual shareholder meeting by Flickr user Itza Fine Day, CC 2.0