A group of leading US investors last week announced that its members filed a record 54 shareholder resolutions relating to climate change during the 2008 proxy season, nearly double the number filed just two years ago.

The figures from environmental investor coalition Ceres demonstrate the growing shareholder pressure being placed on listed firms by pension funds and other large investors to develop coherent strategies for mitigating and adapting to climate change.

"Many US companies are confronting the risks and opportunities from climate change, but others are not responding adequately – and they may be compromising their long-term competitiveness as a result," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres. "Investors want all companies to understand the business impacts of climate change - and plan for it accordingly."

Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer at the California State Teachers’ Retirement System - the second largest public pension fund in the US which filed its first climate-related resolutions this year - agreed there was a clear financial case for investors to call on firms to develop climate change strategies. "Scientific consensus of the potentially destructive impacts of climate change on the global economy is clearer than ever," he said. "Companies in every industry, especially energy sectors, should be acting now to assess and mitigate climate change risks."

Several of the US' largest firms have been hit by the latest wave of shareholder resolutions, including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, US Airways and Standard Pacific.

ConocoPhillips, for example, is facing two resolutions over its plans to become the largest producer of oil from Canada's tar sands with sharholders pressing it to release information on the environmental damage that is expected to result from the plans and requesting that it set greenhouse gas emission targets. US Airways meanwhile is facing a resolution demanding it release information on its carbon emissions and emulate several of its competitors by developing a climate change strategy.

Ceres said there were already signs that the new wave of shareholder resolutions was proving successful, noting that of the 54 filed 14 have already been withdrawn after the companies involved agreed to comply with their shareholders' requests.