Shell to Shareholders: Support Climate Change Disclosure

In a letter to shareholders, the company says “Shell has a commitment to transparency.”

The resolution, coordinated by ClientEarth, ShareAction and the Aiming for A Coalition, asks Shell to transparently:

• Stress-test its business models against the requirement to limit global warming to 2 decrees Celsius, as agreed by governments at the UN Climate Change Conference in 2010;
• Reform its bonus systems so it no longer reward climate-harming activities;
• Commit to reduce emissions and invest in renewable energy.

The investors also submitted an identical resolution to BP.

ClientEarth called the support from Shell “a huge victory” and said the majority of Shell shareholders will likely support the resolution. “This throws down the gauntlet for BP to face up to its climate risk and support the identical resolution made by its own shareholders,” ClientEarth’s Elspeth Owens said.

More than Over 150 investors including the Environment Agency, UK and US local authorities and the Church of England filed the resolutions.

Shell is one of more than two dozen major companies — including Walmart, BP, ExxonMobil and General Electric — that have integrated a price on carbon emissions into their long-term business plans, according to a CDP report.