Shell investors backed a company climate plan Tuesday that weakens emission targets, the latest signal that some oil and gas majors are rethinking their low-carbon strategies.
More than 78 percent of the company’s shareholders voted at the company’s annual general meeting to approve Shell’s resolution 22, which includes less strict corporate goals for carbon dioxide emissions than were in place last year.
The resolution eliminates an earlier target requiring emissions associated with company products to decline 45 percent from 2016 levels by 2035. It also lowers a 2030 target, saying emissions should be cut 15 to 20 percent by that year, rather than 20 percent.
The changes signal that low-carbon efforts may not be providing the financial rewards oil and gas companies hoped for, according to Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston.
