The shareholders are using section 249N of the Corporations Act to ask shareholders on September 30 to insert a new sub-clause in the company’s constitution that reads: “That,

(a) the board must prepare a business model that demonstrates sufficient diversification of the power generation and supply activities of the company to ensure continued profitability

under pathways that limit the world to 2C warming; and (b) include in future annual reporting to shareholders, at reasonable cost and omitting any proprietary information, information about ongoing power generation and supply chain emissions management benchmarked against that model.”

The special resolution was proposed this week.

AGL said it respected the right of shareholders to requisition the resolution.

The board’s recommendation on the resolution will be included in the notice of meeting, which will be finalised in August.

Earlier this year AGL, which was named Australia’s worst polluter in a report in March by the Australian Conservation Foundation, vowed to close all of its coal-fired power stations in its portfolio by 2050 as part of its revised greenhouse gas policy.

It also announced it would no longer build, finance or acquire any new conventional coal-fired power stations in Australia – which specifically means plants without any associated carbon capture and storage technology, which is still to be proven at a commercial scale.

The utility also committed to not extending the operating life of any of its existing coal-fired power plants under the greenhouse gas policy revisions.

The company, which is investing heavily in solar, wind and battery storage and in low-emissions power generating technologies, aims to decarbonise by 2050.

AGL supplies electricity for more than 3.8 million Australian households and businesses.

How AGL reacts to the resolution will be telling.

Recently Woodside Petroleum’s board was asked the same question from the floor of its own AGM and the premise was rejected by chairman Michael Cheney, who flatly rejected considering the impact of climate change on its investments because the purpose of the company was to “provide shareholders with high returns”

Taking a corporate decision for the sake of climate change or abatement, was “not what Woodside exists for”, he said.

Separately, AGL has amended the basis for segment reporting to align it with its new organisational structure following the review and restructure of its upstream gas business.

The previous segments were: retail energy, merchant energy, upstream gas, investments and centrally managed expenses.

The new segments are: energy markets, group operations, new energy, investments and centrally managed expenses.