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For Immediate Release: Thursday, January 20th, 2005 Contact: Jordan Isenstadt (c) 516.991.3842 (w)
212.490.9535 (f) 212.490.2151 ***PRESS RELEASE*** State Senator Liz Krueger
Commends Comptroller Hevesi for Shareholder Activism on Behalf of Environment New York, NY –State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) praised Comptroller Alan Hevesi today for his leadership in encouraging companies that New York State invests in to “behave in an environmentally responsible manner.” Last month, Senator Krueger solicited the help of Comptroller Hevesi in an effort to protect New York’s citizens and natural resources by honoring the mission of the federal Clean Air Act. In a letter written to the Comptroller, Senator Krueger stated, “California’s Comptroller, Steve Westly, attempted to expedite the reform process by calling upon the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) to increase the pressure on a reluctant industry—one that has vowed to spend its money on litigation, not innovation—by leveraging CalPERS’s $838-million investment in the automobile industry. Westly reasoned that as a prominent and significant shareholder, CalPERS could demand of automobile-industry executives that the companies partially owned by the retirement fund comply with the new regulations in an expeditious and cooperative fashion. I feel that New York should pursue a strategy similar to that initiated in California.” Comptroller Hevesi is
the custodian of the New York State pension fund. According to the 2003 Annual Report Supplement, the New York
State pension fund holds 24,161,653 shares in ExxonMobil; 6,417,872 shares in
Ford; 5,600,490 shares distributed between two classes in General Motors;
3,651,665 shares in ChevronTexaco; 1,269,700 shares in Toyota; 831,312 shares
in Honda; and 419,757 shares in DaimlerChrysler. The pension fund has, roughly, a $1.73 billion equity
investment in automobile and related-industry companies. Additionally, the pension fund owns $313
million worth of bonds issued by DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and General Motors,
meaning that the fund’s total financial holdings within the automobile and
gasoline sectors roughly equals $2 billion. “Two billion dollars is a powerful amount of money, and shareholder environmental activism is a powerful tool to bring about corporate reform,” said Senator Krueger. “New Yorkers should be proud to have a State Comptroller who has actively worked to improve our lives.” Comptroller Hevesi has indicated his support for a strategy in New York State that would be similar to California. In particular, the Comptroller has voted in support of resolutions addressing the issue of global climate change at the General Motor’s shareholder meetings and greenhouse gas emissions at shareholder meetings of Louisiana-Pacific, Marathon Oil, Unocal, Valero Energy and Weyerhauser. Furthermore, under Comptroller Hevesi’s stewardship the New York State Common Retirement Fund has become a member of the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES). Carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by motor vehicles comprises roughly one-third of the total “greenhouse gas” created in New York each year. Increasingly, greenhouse gases like CO2 have been shown to have a deleterious impact on the United States, in general, and New York, in particular, contributing to global warming and fostering an environment in which unhealthy air can fester. One need only consider the alarmingly high number of unhealthy-air days in the state or the increasing preponderance of respiratory ailments, like asthma, among New York’s youth to understand just how grave the impacts of air pollution can be. The Bush Administration has essentially ignored the basic tenets of the Clean Air Act, landmark legislation initially passed in 1970 with the intent of improving air quality through several initiatives, including improving vehicle emissions standards. California, a long-time leader in the effort to preserve natural resources and promote public health through innovative environmental policy, has recognized the policy-leadership gap and recently filled it by enacting the most stringent emissions regulations in the nation. California’s new law requires that the automobile industry reduce CO2 emissions by 25-percent from every model of vehicle sold in the state by 2016. -30- |
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