Shell Plc investors are showing more interest in energy security in the wake of the crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to chief financial officer Sinead Gorman.
New chief executive Wael Sawan is preparing to unveil Shell’s strategy at a Capital Markets Day event in June, which could see the company stress the role of oil and gas as the energy crisis of Europe highlights concerns about security of supply. That message may play well with shareholders who benefited from rising prices last year.
“You see a changing dialogue since the crisis with a more balanced perspective between security and carbon,” Gorman said on the sidelines of a conference in Oxford, England.
Although the company has faced pressure from climate activist shareholders to take more aggressive steps to cut emissions, CEO Sawan said earlier this month that cutting oil and gas production is unhealthy. The company is hearing different messages from investors in the US, Europe and Asia and Shell’s priority is looking after all its shareholders, Gorman said.
Shell aims for net zero emissions by 2050, but achieving this goal depends on changes in global energy demand.
The world is currently not on track to reduce demand for fossil fuels at a rate that will meet global climate goals. Projected emissions from existing fossil fuel infrastructure, without reducing greenhouse gases through technologies such as carbon capture and storage, would exceed the remaining carbon budget to keep average temperatures below the target 1.5 ºC of the Paris agreement, according to a report by the Intergovernmental Group of the United Nations. on Climate Change.
Photo Credit – iStock.com/Kunakorn Rassadornyindee
