SYDNEY, April 24 Reuters Shareholders rejected Woodside Energy39;s climate plan on Wednesday, marking a symbolic victory for activists who have called for Australia39;s biggest gas producer to stop new fossil fuel projects, but its chairman survived a push to oust him.

Following a lengthy campaign by activists, 58 of the votes opposed Woodside39;s climate transition plan in a demonstration of the growing unease over its strategy for curbing carbon emissions which critics say is unambitious and vague.

Goyder said he was disappointed by the plan39;s rejection but the board respected the result and would keep talking to shareholders about its strategy.

The vote reflects the challenges and complexities of the energy transition, and today39;s outcome is one we take very seriously, he said.

Opposition has grown since a vote two years ago, when 49 were against the climate plan, also in a nonbinding vote.

A related campaign to block Goyder39;s reelection and hold him accountable for the plan failed to unseat him but cut his margin of victory down to 83.4, from the 99.2 support he secured in 2021, in a rare rebuke for an Australian company chairman.

A vocal and public campaign against the plan and Goyder won support from major pension funds in the U.S., Norway and Australia along with proxy advisor Glass Lewis.

The acrimony spilled over into a fourhour long meeting. In one testy exchange, Goyder said the company wanted to invest more in new energy projects but customers…