British-Dutch oil major Shell published its Energy Transition Strategy today.
Shell said the strategy would be put to shareholders for an advisory vote at its AGM on May 18 2021.
The firm claimed it would be the first time an energy company has asked shareholders to vote on its energy transition strategy.
Shell said the decision to seek a vote followed its continuing engagement with shareholders, including Climate Action 100+, which represents investors with assets of around $54 trillion.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Greenpeace, ShareAction, Follow This, Reclaim Finance, ACCR and Oil Change International had urged Climate Action 100+ to reject Shell’s energy transition plan, claiming it doesn’t go far enough to control global warming.
Shell said today that because the vote is “advisory”, the result will not be binding.
Its board and executive committee remain responsible for setting and approving the strategy.
The document sets out Shell’s target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, “in step with society’s progress towards the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change”.
It also describes Shell’s short and medium-term climate targets, customer-focused decarbonisation strategy, capital allocation and approach to climate-related policy and advocacy.
Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden said: “As we transform our business, it is more important than ever for shareholders to understand and support our approach.
“We are asking our shareholders to vote for an energy transition strategy that is designed to bring our energy products, our services, and our investments in line with the goal of the Paris Agreement and the global drive to combat climate change.”
Shell will publish an update to its Energy Transition Strategy publication every three years until 2050.
Every year, starting in 2022, it will also seek an advisory vote on its progress towards its plans and targets.
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