KazPost

Kazakhstan News
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Toyota heads into AGM under pressure from pension funds over climate

Toyota heads into AGM under pressure from pension funds over climate

Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) heads into its annual general meeting on Wednesday under fire from New York City and Danish pension funds over its commitment to battery vehicles and lobbying on climate policy.

Once a darling of environmentalists for the hybrid Prius model it popularised more than two decades ago, the Japanese automaker has more recently drawn criticism from green investors who say it has been slow to embrace battery vehicles.

They also say its lobbying activities work to undermine the transition to battery electric vehicles. Energy and climate think-tank InfluenceMap has rated it the worst among major automakers for its lobbying record on climate policy, which includes public statements and interaction with governments.

"We are extremely concerned that Toyota's lobbying activities are misaligned with its climate goals and its electric vehicle strategy," New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement ahead of the shareholder meeting.

Lander oversees a pension system with $253 billion in assets under management, including around $140 million worth of Toyota shares.

"Toyota's approach puts it at a competitive disadvantage compared to its peers, which have shown a far greater commitment to transitioning to battery electric vehicles," he said.

Toyota last year committed 8 trillion yen ($60 billion) to electrify its cars by 2030, with half of that slated to develop battery electric vehicles. Still, it expects annual sales of such cars to reach only 3.5 million vehicles by the end of the decade, or around a third of current sales.

It says hybrids make sense in markets where infrastructure isn't ready to support a faster move to battery vehicles.

In a statement, Toyota said national governments and policies play a crucial role in realising carbon neutrality by 2050 and promoting electrified vehicles (EVs) globally, and that it was committed to ensuring national policies, societal needs, technological advances, and customer needs all pointed in the same direction to the greatest extent possible.

LEFT BEHIND


"Toyota says that there's going to be a need for a range of technologies into the future and their lobbying is directly trying to create a world where this is the case," said Ben Youriev of InfluenceMap, the think tank.

Toyota last year declined to join a pledge signed by six major carmakers, including General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N), to phase out fossil fuel cars by 2040, saying not all parts of the world would be ready to transition by then.

It drew scrutiny in 2019 when it sided with then U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to bar California from setting its own fuel efficiency rules. It later dropped that support.

Some 100,000 people have signed an online petition against Toyota's lobbying.

Danish pension fund AkademikerPension has submitted questions for the shareholder meeting asking Toyota to refrain from public statements and government lobbying that would undermine the shift toward full electrification.

"What we fear is that Toyota is getting left behind with their current EV targets that are not as ambitious as most of their competitors and that their lobbying activities are also a growing source of risk," Anders Schelde, the fund's chief investment officer, told Reuters.

AkademikerPension has $19.3 billion in assets under management and has been selling down its stake in Toyota. It holds 17 million Danish crowns ($2.4 million) worth of shares, down around 85% from a year earlier.

($1 = 134.5100 yen)

($1 = 7.1246 Danish crowns)

Newsletter

Related Articles

KazPost
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
Historic Moment: Edgars Rinkevics, EU's First Openly Gay Head of State, Takes Office as Latvia's President
An Ominous Shift in Warfare: Western Powers Risk War Crimes and Violate International Norms with Cluster Bomb Supply to Ukraine
Bye bye democracy, human rights, freedom: French Cops Can Now Secretly Activate Phone Cameras, Microphones And GPS To Spy On Citizens
The Poor Man With Money, Mark Zuckerberg, Unveils Twitter Replica with Heavy-Handed Censorship: A New Low in Innovation?
The Double-Edged Sword of AI: AI is linked to layoffs in industry that created it
US Sanctions on China's Chip Industry Backfire, Prompting Self-Inflicted Blowback
Meta Copy Twitter with New App, Threads
The New French Revolution
BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Application Refiled, Naming Coinbase as ‘Surveillance-Sharing’ Partner
Corruption in the European Parliament - Business as usual
UK Crypto and Stablecoin Regulations Become Law as Royal Assent is Granted
Paris Suburb Grapples with Violence as Curfew Imposed: Saint-Denis Residents Express Dismay and Anger
A Delaware city wants to let businesses vote in its elections
Alef Aeronautics Achieves Historic Milestone with Flight Certification for World's First Flying Car
Google Blocked Access to Canadian News in Response to New Legislation
French Politicians Advocate for Pan-European Regulation on Social Media Influencers
×