Shell is braced for its largest climate rebellion this week as shareholders face the choice between backing the oil giant’s carbon-cutting plans or siding with an activist investor who is calling for tougher emissions targets, a report by the Guradian reads.
With its annual meeting planned for Tuesday, the Anglo-Dutch company has called on its investors to vote against a shareholder resolution from campaign group #FollowThis in favour of its own plans to reduce its emissions to “net zero” by 2050.
The milestone battle will take place after BP saw support among its shareholders for the #FollowThis campaign double in a similar vote last week.
The activists were ultimately defeated, but won 21.1% of shareholder support, up from just over 8% when #FollowThis put forward a resolution in 2019.
Although climate resolutions are often non-binding, the rising shareholder support for campaigners calling for greater climate action underscores the growing investor pressure on major oil companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
At least two major investors, Dutch pension fund Aegon and UK investment firm RWC Partners, are preparing to back #FollowThis in calling for tougher targets at Shell.
British hedge fund billionaire Chris Hohn and the shareholder advisory group Pirc have also urged investors to side with the activist group.
Shell has described the rival climate resolution as redundant because its own strategy “comprehensively details its energy transition strategy”.
It has recommended that shareholders vote against the Follow This resolution and “focus attention instead on the more detailed proposal from Shell, which will help move the company forwards.”
Shell plans to cut the overall “carbon intensity” of the energy it produces by 20% by 2030 and by 45% in 2035, before reaching an absolute emissions cut of 100% by 2050.
The shorter-term targets will include a modest decrease in oil production, made by selling oil fields or allowing reserves to decline naturally, and an expansion of its gas business.
