This briefing has been produced as an aid for shareholder voting decisions on director re-election at the 2023 Annual General Meetings of BP and Shell.
Announcements in the run-up to Annual General Meetings (AGMs) have raised concerns amongst investors about BP and Shell's climate commitments and have raised questions about the extent to which their business strategies are aligned with efforts to deliver on the Paris Agreement’s goals. Some shareholders have announced their intention to vote against the renewal of the companies’ top directors due to these concerns.
This briefing summarizes InfluenceMap’s assessment of both Shell and BP’s climate policy positions and engagement, which can be viewed as a strong indicator of corporate governance and management-level thinking on the transition to a net-zero economy.
InfluenceMap’s analysis suggests that the companies have been following a ‘dual’ advocacy strategy on climate change and the energy transition. While the companies have engaged more positively with certain aspects of climate policy in recent years, they have also continued to advocate for oil and gas exploration, production, infrastructure, and use. At the same time, BP and Shell both maintain a vast network of highly oppositional industry associations, which have successfully weakened numerous climate policies globally, and continue to advocate for oil and gas build out.
Such advocacy is at odds with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the International Energy Agency about how to reach net-zero by 2050 and limit global warming to 1.5C. Both bodies have found the need to reduce the exploration, production, infrastructure and use of oil and gas significantly to meet international climate targets.