NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Exxon Mobile shareholders approved five nominees for the company's board of directors Wednesday, despite criticism that the board is not paying enough attention to global warming and paying lavish salaries to its top executives.

Taking place in Dallas and monitored via Web cast by CNNMoney.com in New York, shareholders presented over a dozen resolutions, many requiring the company to take stronger action on environmental issues and limit executive compensation after former Exxon boss Lee Raymond walked away with a retirement package worth roughly $400 million last year.

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson

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Raymond's pay package sparked and outcry from both shareholders who saw it as a waste of their money, and consumers who equated it with near stealing at a time when they are paying near record prices for gasoline.

Some major shareholders even threatened to withhold their vote to protest Raymond's compensation.

"We believe that the historically high executive compensation at our company diminishes shareholder value," said one shareholder during the meeting. "Why does it take our lowest paid employees a year and a half to make what Mr. Raymond earned in one hour on the job?"

Although most of the shareholders resolutions failed, the meeting provided an opportunity for a sometimes spirited dialogue between disgruntled shareholders and Exxon's new CEO Rex Tillerson, who won praise from some in the audience for being more amicable than the notoriously dismissive Raymond.

"Why does Exxon continue to fund this junk science, it sets us up as a target," asked one shareholder during the open Q&A, referring to what he said was the company's tendency to support scientists outside of the mainstream that discredited global warming in an effort to head off stronger environmental laws.

"Scientific consensus is an oxymoron," responded Tillerson. "Climate change is very complex. Why wouldn't everyone want to have an open debate on what we know and what we don't know?"

During the vote on resolutions, several other shareholder also hammered Tillerson over global warming.

"We've had concerns over global warming and it's fiscal impact on our company," said one shareholder. "Our company is alone in not considering it in future planning, why is this so?"

"We need directors who are qualified in alternative energy R&D," said another.

In most cases Tillerson didn't offer a response during the comment period on the resolutions, but made sure speakers stuck fairly close to the two minute time rule and politely thanked each one.

After the meeting Tillerson told reporters that moves by Venezuela, Ecuador and other nations to nationalize their oil industries were a mistake, Reuters reported.

"It's very short-sighted," Tillerson told Reuters. "My concern is that it's going to interrupt the development of the resources. We will be prevented from doing the things we know how to do. We may be prevented from bringing our investment dollars to bear."

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