Both Exxon and Chevron shareholders reject proposals to curb fossil fuel exploration

Shareholders of ExxonMobil and Chevron, two of the offshore oil industry’s biggest players, on Wednesday voted against resolutions that would have limited exploratory drilling, according to Bloomberg.

The measures made it to the two companies’ respective ballots because of campaigning by groups concerned about climate change, including activist investors, state pension funds and the Catholic church.

But in each case – Exxon’s gathering was in Dallas, Texas, while Chevron’s was in San Ramon, California – the proposals were rejected emphatically.

The shareholders apparently heeded the views of company executives who advocated for the continued quest for fossil fuels until substantial technological improvements make alternative power sources feasible suppliers for the huge energy demands of the world’s population.

Environmentalist protesters in their dozens assembled outside each meeting site.