Shareholders press oil firms on tar sands issues

Shareholders plan to question French oil giant Total SA on their "tar sands" activites at the company's forthcoming annual shareholder meeting. Fellow oil firms BP and Shell have faced shareholder resolutions on the tar sands issue in the past. For its part, Total says environmental stewardship is a priority and cites its position as the top-ranked oil and gas company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. It acknowledges that oil sands development is challenging in terms of CO2 emissions, water consumption, land footprint and tailings management. Read more at Responsible Investor.com