Today: The major U.S. stock indexes—S&P 500, Dow Jones and the Nasdaq—all closed up more than 1% on Friday but remain below their all-time highs from earlier in the month. S&P futures signalled little movement before the opening bell this morning.
President-elect Donald Trump has said the U.S. should retake ownership of both the Panama Canal and Greenland. Details below.
'Business inaction impacts political courage'
Good morning, Peter Vanham here in Barcelona, where the festive mood has set in.
With the inauguration of President-elect Trump less than a month away, many international business leaders I speak to are adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to everything the new administration may get involved in — from the war in Ukraine, to trade tariffs, to the U.S. participation in the WHO, WTO, NATO, and the Paris Agreement.
But on the last topic — climate action — a group of Fortune 500 business leaders is done waiting, they say in a new white paper and an op-ed, published exclusively by Fortune today. To adopt a wait-and-see approach, they say, “is unwise,” “because business inaction impacts political courage, risking a vicious cycle where corporate and policymaker hesitation feed on one another”.
As it’s 2024 as you read this, chances are you’re either heavily nodding in approval, or getting ready to stop reading. Such is the polarization on climate, ESG, and other “woke” topics today. But as those on either side of the corporate climate action debate entrench, their tactics are getting more assertive. The climate coalition is deepening, even if it’s no longer broadening.
The Council on Sustainable Transformation, as the latest climate leader group is called, counts usual suspects such as the Swede Peter Agnefjäll and the Dutchman Feike Sijbesma among its members, respectively the chairs of Ahold Delhaize and Phillips (and former CEOs of IKEA and DSM), but also Danish Connie Hedegaard, a former European Commissioner for Climate Action.
Their call to action is for CEOs of large public firms to become “chief coalition builders”. Beyond the PR spin, the implications of such a call are profound, as they suggest a doubling down on managerialism and stakeholder capitalism in pursuit of sustainable outcomes, with CEOs “managing” their shareholders, and more aggressively lobbying governments on the matter.
“When governments seem set on counterproductive or regressive moves,” they write in the op-ed, “this needs to be called out with tact and diplomacy.” And when it comes to shareholders, Agnefjäll told me in a phone call on Friday, as company management “you can attract certain investors, by being much more vocal on sustainability, and showcase why it is good.”
For Agnefjäll and his colleagues, such managerial tactics are warranted, because they’ll lead to better returns for shareholders in the long run, not to mention the more sustainable future for all they seek.
But as someone who has followed the shareholder vs. stakeholder debate for years , I’d suggest that these obvious stakeholder tactics may also further entrench some executives who are adopting a “wait-and-see” approach to climate action, or have already decided they’ll cling to the shareholder primacy mantra instead.
Also on our radar today:
- Donald Trump says he wants to take Greenland into U.S. ownership. In a post on Truth Social announcing the appointment of Ken Howery as U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Trump said, “the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” The Danish government, which controls Greenland as a territory, has yet to respond. It previously rebuffed this idea during the first Trump administration.
- The president of Panama rebuffed Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. regain control of the Panama Canal. In a series of posts, Trump complained about unfair treatment of American ships, saying “This complete “rip-off” of our Country will immediately stop.” he also posted a photo of the American flag planted in the canal. Panama's president, Jose Raúl Mulino responded: "The sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable."
- Putin wants a meeting with Trump about ending the war in Ukraine. The incoming president, speaking at the Turning Point’ America Fest event, said “President Putin said that he wants to meet with me as soon as possible … So we have to wait for this, but we have to end that war. That war is horrible, horrible.”
- Trump also denied that he had ceded the presidency to Elon Musk. “No, he’s not taking the presidency,” Trump said. The remarks were the first sign that the amount of attention and media exposure Musk is getting is on Trump’s radar.
- Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has 80% of his net worth in one stock — Microsoft. He believes retail investors should “keep it simple.”
More news below.
Peter Vanham
peter.vanham@fortune.com
