BHP, the world’s biggest miner by market value, has been urged to run down rather than divest its fossil assets to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement by a shareholder activist group.

The call by Market Forces was made in a shareholder resolution submitted on Aug. 11 that will be voted on at BHP’s annual meetings in October and November.

It comes as BHP, which is listed in London and Sydney, examines options for its oil and gas business, including a sale, and seeks to find a buyer for its remaining thermal coal assets in Australia.

“By providing a leading example of responsibly managing down fossil fuel assets, BHP can preserve and realize the genuine value that exists in these assets, align with global climate goals, and support its workers in the transition to a decarbonized economy,” Market Forces said in a statement supporting its proposal.

The resolution is on behalf of about 100 small shareholders. It highlights a shift in strategy by activists and campaigners who are growing increasingly concerned that the sale of fossil assets to smaller operators or state-backed companies could led to increased production and therefore pollution.

Glencore, the Swiss miner and commodity trader, has won the backing of some big investors with its plan to gradually run down its coal mines to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

In a statement BHP said it would respond to the Market Forces resolution before its AGM, noting that it had been filed by investors representing less than 0.006% of total share capital.

The proposal calls on BHP to disclose details of spending plans for its fossil assets and how that aligns with its stated support for the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Last week, BHP’s board approved a $544 million budget to develop an oil project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and $258 million to progress another field offshore from Mexico.

“BHP’s repeated claims of climate concern are completely at odds with its continued bets on fossil fuel expansion,” said Will van de Pol of Market Forces.

“If BHP was looking to insult investors who are committed to climate action, it could scarcely find a better way than splurging over half a billion dollars on an expansionary oil project near Deepwater Horizon,” he said, referring to the BP oil rig that exploded in 2010.

BHP is due to report annual results on Aug. 17 and its CEO Mike Henry is likely to face questions about how its oil and gas business fits with the company’s wider decarbonization ambitions and shift towards greener commodities.

The company is set to authorize a $5.3 billion to $5.7 billion investment in a Canadian potash project and recently announced a $350 million bid for Noront Resources, a small exploration group developing a high-grade nickel project, also in Canada.

BHP has owned and operated oil and gas assets for more than 60 years. But today they are a relatively small part of the company, which makes most of its money producing steelmaking ingredient iron ore.

According to Morgan Stanley, about 12% of BHP’s group revenues of more than $60 billion are generated from fossil-fuel commodities.

Energy Source is a twice-weekly energy newsletter from the Financial Times. It is written and edited by Derek Brower, Myles McCormick, Justin Jacobs and Emily Goldberg.

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