Shell under fire from Europe’s largest asset manager over climate policy

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Europe’s largest asset manager Amundi has been joined by 26 investors demanding that Shell improve its environmental targets at its annual meeting, in the most significant shareholder push on climate policy faced by the oil and gas group.

The resolution, co-ordinated by the activist group Follow This, called on Shell to align its “medium-term” greenhouse gas emissions target with the Paris agreement to limit global warming. Global emissions must fall by almost half by 2030 for those targets to be met.

Shell has claimed its targets are already Paris-aligned but the activist group wanted the company to do better. This would include accounting for all the emissions of its products sold to its customers, known as scope 3.

“We urge Shell to set a credible scope 3 absolute emissions target,” said Diandra Soobiah, head of responsible investment at UK pension fund Nest. “This would demonstrate leadership, show Shell is serious about transitioning its business, and play a role in generating real world change.”

The activist group has organised similar motions at Shell meetings since 2016 but support for the upcoming resolution has drawn the largest number of investment managers, said Follow This founder Mark van Baal.

Together the investors oversee more than €3.8tn and own about 5 per cent of Shell. They include UK pension fund London CIV, and international managers Rathbones, Candriam and Edmond de Rothschild, Swedish pension fund AP4 and Ethos Foundation, representing Swiss investors.

Last year, two shareholders co-filed the resolution at Shell and drew the backing of about 20 per cent of the total investors who voted.

“With 2023 being the warmest year on record, and COP28 signalling ‘the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era’, we are more aware than ever that climate change will create winners and losers,” said Matt…