Shell CEO: "foolhardy" to Set Carbon Reduction Targets

Posted by Joseph Keefe
Thursday, July 5, 2018
CEO says a target will expose Shell to lawsuits; BP has also taken cautious approach on targets.
Royal Dutch Shell's boss said it would be "foolhardy" for the oil and gas producer to set hard targets to reduce carbon emissions as it risked exposing the energy giant to legal challenges.
The energy industry has struggled in recent years to find a clear path to secure its role as the world shifts from fossil fuels in order to meet the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals.
Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden last year set out ambitions last year to halve its carbon emissions by 2050, far exceeding rivals. But the Dutch CEO resisted calls by activists and some investors to set binding targets.
"It would be somewhat foolhardy to put ourselves in a legal bind by saying these are the targets we will adopt," van Beurden said at a company event.
"Before we put ourselves at the mercy of a legal challenge, I want to make sure we are doing the right thing first."
Van Beurden, a vocal proponent of the world's need to meet the Paris goals, urged investors to trust him.
"You have to believe us that setting an ambition, sticking my neck out, my personal reputation, the reputation of the company, is a big enough incentive to get it right," he told reporters.

LAWSUITS
Oil companies have faced a growing number of legal challenges over climate change in recent years.
On Monday, the U.S. state of Rhode Island sued several major oil companies, including Exxon Mobil Corp , Shell and BP , accusing them of contributing to climate change that is damaging infrastructure and coastal communities.
BP this year announced plans to keep carbon emissions from its operations flat until 2025. But BP CEO Bob Dudley echoed van Beurden's concerns at the company's annual general meeting in May and refused to disclose details of the plan.
"You want to get us to make statements here in front of you that you can document that will lead to a class action," Dudley said in response to a question from a shareholder.
Shell spends the most among the world's top oil and gas companies on low-carbon energies, investing up to $2 billion per year in renewables and clean fuel technology, out of a total spending budget of $25 billion to $30 billion per year.
"It is more sensible to say we will go faster than society, we will catch up with society on its way to meeting Paris," van Beurden said on Thursday.
"It is a very clear ambition, we will articulate this ambitions in steps as we go along the way. We will be totally transparent."

Reporting by Ron Bousso  

Categories: Contracts Legal Finance Energy Fuels & Lubes Government Update

Related Stories

VARD Snags $125M Shipbuilding Deal for Subsea Construction Vessel

Valeura’s Assets in Gulf of Thailand Remain Operational After Earthquake

Woodside to Shed Some Trinidad and Tobago Assets for $206M

China Unveils Plans for New Offshore Wind Farms to Tackle Carbon Emissions

Eco Wave Finds Partner for Wave Energy Project in India

US Operator Finds Oil Offshore Vietnam

Europe's Gas Uncertainty Help Drive Asian LNG Spot Prices Higher

ADES’ Fourth Suspended Jack-Up Rig Gets Work Offshore Thailand

Saipem’s Castorone Vessel on Its Way to Türkiye’s Largest Gas Field

Shell Shuts Down Oil Processing Unit in Singapore Due to Suspected Leak

Current News

The Future of Long-Idle Drillships: Cold-Stacked or Dead-Stacked?

TMC Books Compressors Orders for FPSO and LNG Vessels

MODEC, Sumitomo Partner Up for Delivery of Gato do Mato FPSO

Chuditch Gas Field Up for Summer Drilling Ops as Sunda Reshapes Ownership Structure

EnQuest Bags Two Production Sharing Contracts off Indonesia

Hanwha Drilling’s Tidal Action Drillship En Route to Petrobras’ Roncador Field

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

MODEC Wins ExxonMobil Guyana’s Hammerhead FPSO Contract

India Stretches Bids Deadline for 13 Offshore Deep-Sea Mineral Blocks

Indonesia Awards Oil and Gas Blocks to Boost Reserves

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com