Shell AGM Disrupted By Protests Opposing Emissions Target

The yearly Shell shareholder meeting in London is a mess. Protesters are causing a climate fuss, making the meeting start late. Shell wants investors to say no to new carbon emission reduction goals.

The big oil company had a vote from shareholders about setting carbon targets. Some big investors wanted targets for 2030. Lots of protesters wanted an end to fossil fuels straight away.

People protest about climate change at meetings every year, mainly against banks like HSBC and Barclays, who lend money to fossil fuel projects and oil companies like BP and Shell.

The new Shell CEO, Wael Sawan, and the chair, Andrew Mackenzie, had a meeting. They talked about Shell's use of fossil fuels. People have accused Shell of not using renewable energy fast enough. Sawan and Mackenzie defended Shell against these accusations many times.

Sawan invested $4.3bn in 2022 in green energy. It included biofuels, hydrogen, electric car charging, and renewable power. The total capital spending was $25bn, but most of it went towards oil and gas.

The company told shareholders to not support the climate resolution. Follow This made the resolution, and many big investors have supported them. But they still don't have enough votes to win.

Sawan responded to the Follow This resolution. Sawan is Lebanese-Canadian. Sawan used a proverb. Sawan argued that pushing Shell to cut its oil and gas production would be premature. This would result in other fossil fuel producers filling the gap.

Sawan shared a proverb he knows from Lebanon. It talks about how some people will make big plans based on small things. Sawan thinks Follow This is doing that. They have only one idea. The idea is that companies like Shell can be replaced easily and quickly.

The vote results were supposed to come out on Tuesday afternoon.

The Shell board had a meeting at the ExCeL conference centre in London. They were prepared for problems because they had information about potential danger.

Things got chaotic quickly. A protester stood up and started yelling as soon as the meeting began. He asked if they liked David Attenborough and mentioned his thoughts on investments in fossil fuels.

Mackenzie told him to sit down many times, but he didn't listen. People began singing "Go to hell, Shell". Then they started chanting "shut down Shell" and "we hate Jackdaw". Mackenzie said he heard them.

The meeting started 45 minutes late because of protests. Even after an hour, people were still protesting. Security had to protect the board when protesters tried to get too close. Some people fighting with security had scuffles.

Mackenzie said they want the debate. Security removed many people.

Shell said they respect people's opinion and welcome discussions. But the protesters aren't interested in talking.

We all need to work together to address climate change.

In the past year, three individuals got arrested. During Shell's AGM, environmental protesters caused a disturbance. They chanted "We will stop you." As a result, Shell had to momentarily halt the meeting.