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British oil and gas giant Shell faced a stormy meeting of shareholders on Tuesday, as environmental protesters slammed its pledge to tackle carbon emissions.
Pressure groups including Greenpeace, Fossil Free London, Neon and Tipping Point demonstrated outside Shell’s annual general meeting in London.
More than 100 activists disrupted the opening remarks from chief executive Wael Sawan, according to Fossil Free London, while others tried to occupy the stage.
The shareholder activist group Follow This introduced a resolution calling on Shell to strengthen its ambitions to fight climate change, supported by a fifth of shareholders who voted.
“Considering that up to 99 percent of shareholders voted with the board on the other 25 resolutions, 20 percent in support and a significant number of abstentions despite a negative recommendation by the board it is clear that indicates shareholder dissatisfaction,” said Follow This founder Mark van Baal.
Shell chairman Andrew Mackenzie earlier argued the resolution would “undermine” the business, reducing the company’s “ability to help the world”.
Tuesday’s AGM came after Shell posted a sharp jump in first-quarter earnings on rising oil prices, mirroring bumper earnings at rivals BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies.
The carbon-intensive sector has faced fierce criticism from the green lobby over plans to switch away from dirty fossil fuels and towards cleaner renewable energy.
Campaigners have criticized Shell for its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, accusing it of “greenwashing” or marketing its operations as climate-friendly.
“Shut down Shell,” chanted protesters as they also interrupted speeches by Mackenzie and other board members.
Another group of protesters chanted: “Go to hell Shell and don’t you come back no more, no more, no more, no more” to the tune of “Hit the Road Jack” by Ray Charles.
Several protesters were reportedly escorted from the event by members of the group’s security team.
Earlier this month, Shell revealed that profit after tax rose 22 percent to $8.7 billion in the three months to March from last year.
The news came after rival BP announced on Tuesday that it had returned to a net profit of $8.2 billion for the period.
The profit hike has prompted an outcry from critics as Britons face a cost-of-living crisis with high electricity and gas bills, sparking accusations of profiteering by energy majors.
(AFP)