BOSTON, March 26 (Reuters) - A record 263

climate-related shareholder resolutions have been filed so far

this year for annual meetings of North American companies, a new

tally showed on Tuesday, with proponents tailoring their wording

to gain support.

Officials at sustainability nonprofit Ceres said the trends

they found show investors and corporate executives remain

interested in countering rising global temperatures despite a

drop-off in support for the measures from big asset managers.

They pointed to a resolution that won 57% support at Jack in

the Box on March 1, asking the restaurant operator to

report certain greenhouse gas emissions and its goals to reduce

them. The resolution stated rival McDonald's already

does such reporting and called Jack in the Box's efforts

"sporadic."

Such company-specific details can help sway top fund

managers, said Kirsten Snow Spalding, vice-president of the

Ceres Investment Network, an arm of the organization.

In wording their resolutions, "investors are getting much

sharper about the specific business case," Spalding said in an

interview.

Jack in the Box had opposed the proposal, calling it

premature pending more clarity around new state and federal

disclosure rules. The company did not respond to requests for

comment.

Shareholder resolutions related to environmental, social and

governance (ESG) topics have dominated various corporate

meetings in recent years but have gained less traction since

2022.

Merel Spierings, senior research for The Conference Board, a

nonprofit business membership and research organization, said

she expects support for environmental resolutions will keep

falling as investors become satisfied that companies have been

issuing more details about the ESG impact of their operations.

But outcomes like at Jack in the Box show "investors

continue to be discerning" and willing to support some

resolutions, Spierings said.

Boston-based Ceres says it convenes conversations among

investors. It has been targeted by U.S. Republican politicians

who say it appears to facilitate potential breaches of antitrust

law.

Proposals related to climate and other environmental topics

account for the largest share of ESG proposals tracked by the

Sustainable Investments Institute in a separate report.

Shareholder proponents have already made deals to withdraw 56 of

the resolutions so far this year, according to Ceres, compared

with 83 such deals in 2023 and 116 in 2022.

For instance New York Comptroller Brad Lander, who oversees

worker retirement assets, last week described deals with

JPMorgan ( JPM ) and Citigroup ( C/PN ) to disclose comparative

details of their lending for low-carbon energy and for fossil

fuels.

U.S. securities regulators made it easier for ESG

resolutions to reach corporate ballots in late 2021. More were

then filed, but the decision has been cited by Exxon for

allowing too many ballot items.