Shell survives shareholder revolt over green strategy as climate change protesters storm annual meeting
Shell faced another shareholder revolt over its green strategy as climate change protesters stormed the annual meeting.
At a boisterous event in London, 20 percent of voting investors opposed the oil giant’s energy transition strategy and climate performance over the past 12 months.
Shell also saw that 20 percent voted for a resolution by the Dutch action group Follow
This forced the company to make its environmental goals more ambitious. But it meant that 80 percent of voting shareholders supported Shell’s position.
Demonstration: Climate change activists protest outside Shell’s annual meeting in London, where investors demanded the oil giant make its environmental targets more ambitious
Shell is under pressure to advance fossil fuel targets to address the threat of global warming.
Within seconds of the annual gathering that began yesterday morning, dozens of activists began chanting and shouting slogans.
Security intervened to prevent a protester from reaching Shell chairman Sir Andrew Mackenzie and other board members on the podium at the ExCel centre.
A Shell spokesperson said: ‘We respect people’s right to express their point of view. But again, protesters have shown that they are not interested in constructive engagement.”
Calls to oust CEO Wael Sawan and Mackenzie also fell on deaf ears, as they received 99 percent and 93 percent support from voting shareholders, respectively.