Shell shakes up climate targets as it plans to keep gas business growing

Shell's decision to weaken its climate targets to allow for continued gas business growth has drawn criticism from activist group Follow This.
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Financial Times | Energy major gives itself more flexibility on timing of plans. 

Shell has weakened some of its climate targets to accommodate its plans to keep growing its giant gas business, even as it pushes to cut emissions to net zero by 2050.

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Despite the commitment to cut oil-related customer emissions, the changes to Shell’s carbon intensity targets are likely to provoke criticism, particularly from groups that already thought the company was not doing enough to reduce its environmental impact. Shell now has no interim targets to lower emissions between 2030 and 2050.

“This backtracking removes any doubt about Shell’s intentions: the company wants to stay in fossil fuels as long as possible,” said Mark van Baal, founder of activist group Follow This, which has filed regular shareholder motions at Shell calling on the company to cut emissions faster.

Even before the changes, a Dutch court had ruled that Shell’s original targets were not ambitious enough, instructing the company to cut all of its emissions by 45 per cent, on an absolute basis, by 2030. Shell has appealed against the ruling and that appeal will be heard next month.

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