Consultancy Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommends that Shell shareholders vote against a resolution by climate activists calling on the energy giant to align with the 2015 Paris climate accord, while acknowledging the proposal’s merits. Shell investors must vote on the resolution, put forward by environmental stakeholder group Follow This, at the May 23 annual general meeting.
Scientists say the world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions by around 43% by 2030, compared with 2019 levels, to have a chance of meeting the Paris agreement goal of keeping global warming very low. below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels.
A risk of “change of strategy”
Shell aims to reduce its net carbon intensity across its portfolio and product use by 20% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, but has ruled out setting absolute emissions reduction targets, including for the combustion of its products. . Measuring emissions by intensity means that a company can technically increase its fossil fuel production and overall emissions while using offsets or adding renewables or biofuels to its product line.
According to ISS, whose recommendations guide the vote of many investors, “Follow This’s argument that intensity measures cannot replace absolute measures is entirely valid”, and is echoed in their analysis. However, the cabinet recommends voting against it, as it believes that if the resolution were to pass, it “would represent a change in strategy from that which Shell has adopted.” At Shell’s 2022 AGM, Follow This won 20% of the vote, up from 30% the year before.
In 2021, a Dutch court decision, still under appeal, called on Shell to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in absolute terms by 45% by 2030 over the entire life cycle of its hydrocarbons.
Source: BFM TV
