Oil and gas (O&G) giant Shell has scaled back its 2030 and 2035 emission reduction targets, indicating that it expects the globe to fail the Paris Climate Agreement.
The landmark Paris Climate Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change signed by 196 parties, requires the world to almost halve emissions this decade.
Detailed within Shell’s Energy Transition Strategy 2024 report, the O&G company has lowered its emissions reduction targets from a 20% reduction to 15-20% by 2030. Shell has also “retired” its emissions reduction targets of 45% by 2035.
Shell initially set its emissions reduction targets based on its Net Carbon Impact (NCI) metric, which compares emissions to a 2016 baseline. It is worth noting that the company still maintains its target to cut emissions by 100% by 2050.
Shell is not the first O&G giant to have slashed its reduction targets, with BP also slashing its 2030 emissions reduction target from a 35-40% reduction to 20%-30%, compared with 2019 levels, in 2023. This was due to the firm’s commitment to increasing oil production to bolster energy security.
“With this backtrack, Shell bets on the failure of the Paris Climate Agreement, which requires almost halving emissions this decade,” responds Mark van Baal, founder of activist shareholder group Follow This. “Only Shell’s shareholders can change the board’s mind by voting for our climate resolution at the shareholders’ meeting in May.
Read more: Current+
