Newly found documents from the 1980s show that fossil fuel companies privately predicted the global damage that would be caused by their products.

The documents make for frightening reading. And the effect is all the more chilling in view of the oil giants’ refusal to warn the public about the damage that their own researchers predicted. Shell’s report, marked “confidential,” was first disclosed by a Dutch news organization earlier this year. Exxon’s study was not intended for external distribution, either; it was leaked in 2015.

Nor did the companies ever take responsibility for their products. In Shell’s study, the firm argued that the “main burden” of addressing climate change rests not with the energy industry, but with governments and consumers. That argument might have made sense if oil executives, including those from Exxon and Shell, had not later lied about climate change and actively prevented governments from enacting clean-energy policies. read more

Shell targets lower methane emissions from oil and gas operations

Methane is released into the atmosphere mostly from the burning of excess gas, known as flaring, as well as through leaks in gas infrastructure such as wells, pumps and pipelines.

The gas has a bigger greenhouse impact than carbon dioxide, even though the oil and gas industry produces less methane and the gas also has a shorter lifetime.

The methane target will be measured against a baseline leak rate, which is currently estimated at range from 0.01 percent to 0.8 percent across the company’s oil and gas assets, it said. read more

Ben Marlow, executive business editor: 9 SEPTEMBER 2018 • 8:39PM

Like a pair of mysterious soothsayers, Maarten Wetselaar and John Abbott are peering into the future. The world they see is almost unrecognisable from the one we inhabit today, and yet it is only just around the corner.

In the west, the petrol car has become obsolete. Lorries are powered by liquid natural gas. Freight liners criss-cross the oceans fuelled by hydrogen. Solar and wind provide the energy to our homes.

And the petrol station has been reimagined as an unlikely retail hotspot where people routinely gather to do their food shopping, pick up parcels, and sip artisan coffee. A convoy of vehicles are being rebooted at one of many charging points on the forecourt. read more

By atlanticenergy August 10, 2018 Green Energy

The world as we know it is not in great condition. Polar ice caps are melting and thus causing higher sea levels, temperatures are increasing, drought is on the rise, weather conditions have become very unstable and unpredictable, and there are many more changes taking place that we will get into as we go through this article.

Most people would argue that this is due to humanity’s major dependence on fossil fuels to produce energy; those being coal, oil, natural gas, and so on. But is there really a viable solution to this? Is there a clear winner in the solar vs coal debate? We think there is but it doesn’t come without its costs.  read more

Shell aims to establish a network of hydrogen filling stations in the Netherlands and expects to roll out four stations by 2020—two in Amsterdam, one in The Hague, and one in Pesse.

Last update: August 24, 2018
Author: PetrolPlaza Correspondent Daniel Infante Tuaño

The oil giant wants to play an active role in the Dutch energy transition and is also working on establishing a network of fast charging stations for electric vehicles, reports Gasworld.

To roll out the hydrogen stations, Shell is availing of a government scheme called the Demonstration Regulation for Climate Technologies and Innovations in Transport (DKTI Transport) of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, which offers subsidies to low emission transport solutions.

In addition, Shell’s hydrogen stations are part of the extensive hydrogen project H2Benelux, a project co-financed by the ‘Connecting Europe Facility’ of the European Union. read more

By Zheng Xin | China Daily | Updated: 2018-08-23 09:12

Global energy giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc has announced plans to triple the number of gas stations it has in China to 3,500 by 2025, in response to the recent lifting of restrictions on foreign investment in the sector.

“Shell is already the leading international oil retailer in China, running 1,300 sites via strategic joint ventures and two wholly owned companies, and we aspire to triple the size of our network by 2025,” said John Abbott, downstream director, Royal Dutch Shell. read more

REUTERS STAFF: AUGUST 22, 2018

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s (RDSa.AS) Brazil chief said on Wednesday that the company is evaluating the assets of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA’s (ELET6.SA) that are being put up for sale as part of the state-owned utility’s debt reduction and privatization plans. Andre Araujo also told reporters that the company was considering participating in an upcoming Brazilian government auction for projects in the wind energy sector. read more

By Elizabeth Burden and Thomas Biesheuvel
15 August 2018, 08:54 BST

*Methodist fund developing system analyzing company ethics
*Top mining and oil companies will be graded by end of 2018

Divestment may be too blunt an instrument to encourage the world’s biggest oil and mining companies to behave ethically: the Methodist Church is prepared to back those committed to mending their ways.

While the precise workings of its new “traffic light system” are still being debated, the Central Finance Board of the Methodist Church plans to determine by the end of the year whether BP Plc, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Equinor ASA have the ethical credentials to merit continued investor support. Those preferences will be denoted by red, amber and green categories, which will reflect a firm’s efforts and commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, its asset mix, capital expenditure, climate strategy and governance. read more

Shell, which has its headquarters in the Netherlands, does business in more than 70 countries:TORU HANAI/REUTERS

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: 27 July 2018

Royal Dutch Shell launched a long-awaited $25 billion share buyback plan as it sought to shrug off disappointing second-quarter results.

The Anglo-Dutch energy group insisted it had had a “very good quarter” as profits excluding exceptional items rose to $4.7 billion, up from $3.6 billion a year earlier, aided by higher oil and gas prices.

The result was significantly below analysts’ expectations of almost $6 billion, however, because of factors including foreign exchange effects and rising operating costs. read more

By Zoltan Ban: 20 July 2018

Summary

By Bobby Magill: July 20, 2018

If Royal Dutch Shell Plc wins a federal lease to build an offshore wind farm in New England this fall, the company will be the first oil major with experience drilling in U.S. waters to enter the fledgling domestic offshore wind market.

Shell’s interest in U.S. offshore wind development is seen within the industry as marking a shift toward the mainstream of the domestic energy sector, as offshore wind strengthens ties with the oil industry while harnessing one of the nation’s largest untapped sources of carbon-free electricity. read more

Energy giant Shell has been fined £40,000 for breaching climate pollution rules at the Mossmorran Chemical plant in Fife.

Written by Allister Thomas – 17/07/2018

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency  (SEPA) imposed the fine after Shell broke regulation on reporting emissions at the site between 2013 and 2015.

Shell operates a plant at the site in Fife to process thousands of tonnes of North Sea gas per day.

The company had under reported propane unit volumes by approximately 0.5% of total plant volumes over the three-year period.

EU rules mean the firm is obliged to report its climate pollution.

A note on the Sepa website states: “Failure to comply with condition 4 of a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Permit. read more

8 JULY 2018 • 7:00PM

The Church of England is to withdraw funds from polluting firms that fail to tackle climate change.

Companies including Shell and BP could face disinvestment from the church within five years if they do not fall in line with strict environmental measures.

Its General Synod, meeting this weekend in York, voted to bring in the timetable to put more pressure on companies which fail to meet the aims of the Paris climate accords.

The church pulled £12m in funds out of assets such as coal and tar sands oil following another Synod vote in 2015, but is still an investor in major fossil fuels companies.

The church’s pension fund, worth £2bn, is understood to be in deficit, but a spokesman said it was on track to remove it.

The decision came after the church was slammed by one of its bishops for failing to move with sufficient urgency. read more

Millennials fight back against Shell’s attempt to woo them at ‘Make the Future’ festival

Climate activists staged an anti-greenwash dodgeball game outside Shell’s Make the Future festival at the Olympic Park, London, yesterday.

They also invited young people to take photos with a poster pledging they wouldn’t not work for Shell while the company continues to invest in fossil fuels.

Shell’s Olympic Park event is part of an international PR push under the banner of Make the Future banner, aimed at convincing young people that the oil industry is a desirable employer.

Shale oil read more

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, said governments need to lead if the world is to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement: TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: July 6 2018

The boss of Royal Dutch Shell has said it is easier to make progress on climate change in countries such as China than in “noisy democracies” such as Britain.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive, complained yesterday that the world was spending too much time and effort arguing about how to tackle global warming instead of taking action.

“In places like China it works very well, governments work very gratefully with us and adopt really incredibly pragmatic and powerful policies, sensible, etc. Here, there are more participants in the debate, let me put it that way,” Mr Van Beurden said. read more

Shell CEO Van Beurden says UK should move 2040 car ban forward

Chief executive of Shell, Ben Van Beurden, has reportedly said today that he believes the 2040 UK ban on petroleum and diesel car sales should be brought forward.

Written by David McPhee – 05/07/2018 4:16 pm

In response to a question from an audience member at the Powering Progress Together event in London, Mr Van Beurden reportedly said that while “everyone was going to have to move quickly, the UK ought to move more quickly than most” and that it was “sensible” that the government move the 2040 target forward.

Mr Van Beurden was speaking at the event on the eve of the company’s Shell Eco Marathon to outline his firm’s commitment to a “cleaner future, transport and beyond”. read more

Shell CEO says ‘foolhardy’ to set carbon reduction targets

Ron Bousso: JULY 5, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s boss said it would be “foolhardy” for the oil and gas producer to set hard targets to reduce carbon emissions as it risked exposing the energy giant to legal challenges.

The energy industry has struggled in recent years to find a clear path to secure its role as the world shifts from fossil fuels in order to meet the 2015 Paris climate agreement goals.

Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden last year set out ambitions last year to halve its carbon emissions by 2050, far exceeding rivals. But the Dutch CEO resisted calls by activists and some investors to set binding targets. read more

By Vanand Meliksetian – Jul 03, 2018, 3:00 PM CDT

The Netherlands has been the source of cheap energy for northwest Europe for the past decades. The discovery of the Groningen gas field, the 9th largest in the world, provided a reliable source of energy in a period when the oil market was rocked by embargos due to the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The future of the Dutch gas sector, however, looks bleak due to two important developments in 2018: a political decision to reduce production with a timeline to stop entirely until 2030 and a new climate agreement. The Netherlands is preparing to make major changes regarding the role of gas in people’s lives. read more

Big Oil, Utilities are Lining Up for an Electric Vehicle War

By Kelly Gilblom and Anna Hirtenstein: 2 July 2018, 05:00 BST

• BP and Shell have bought electric-car charging companies
• Power utilities are boosting sales to homes, chargers on roads

A red-hot electric vehicle market has triggered a face-off between Big Oil and utilities.

Oil majors, who’ve sold fossil fuels to cars for a century, are now moving into an electricity sector that’s preparing for exponential growth. The problem is that utilities, the primary power suppliers for a century, have the same idea.

BP Plc predicts electric vehicle sales will surge by an eye-watering 8,800 percent between 2017 and 2040, making it an attractive business for oil companies as demand for gasoline and diesel are forecast to slow. Big Oil will have to battle the traditional utilities for charging at people’s homes, on the road and even offices of green-car owners. read more

Shell-Partners consortium ready to build Dutch offshore wind farm

Reuters Staff: JUNE 28, 2018

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A consortium led by Swiss investor Partners Group and Royal Dutch Shell said it has secured financing for the building of a 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) wind farm in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

Shell and consortium partners Eneco, Van Oord and Mitsubishi/DGE were awarded the “Borssele 3 and 4” project in December 2016, at what at the time was the Netherlands’ lowest-ever strike price of 54.50 euro cents per megawatt-hour.

Building of the wind farm, which will have the capacity to power around 825,000 households, will start in the fourth quarter of 2019, with production expected to begin in 2021. read more

U.S. court dismisses climate change lawsuits against oil companies

(Reuters) – A federal court in California dismissed climate change lawsuits by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland against five oil companies, saying the complaints required foreign and domestic policy decisions that were outside its purview.

San Francisco and Oakland sued Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp, ConocoPhillips, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and BP Plc last year seeking an abatement fund to help the cities address flooding they said was a result of climate change.

Judge William Alsup of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said in the ruling that the dangers raised by the complainants were real and worldwide, and both parties accepted the science behind global warming. read more

Judge tosses San Francisco-Oakland climate change lawsuit against big oil companies

SAN FRANCISCO — A U.S. judge who held a hearing about climate change that received widespread attention ruled Monday that Congress and the president were best suited to address the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming, throwing out lawsuits that sought to hold big oil companies liable for the Earth’s changing environment.

Noting that the world has also benefited significantly from oil and other fossil fuel, Judge William Alsup said questions about how to balance the “worldwide positives of the energy” against its role in global warming “demand the expertise of our environmental agencies, our diplomats, our Executive, and at least the Senate.” read more

Seven out of eight of the Netherland’s largest insurance companies snubbed Shell’s climate ambition by abstaining or voting with a fringe group’s resolution.

Written by David McPhee – 02/06/2018 6:00 am

Only one insurer, Allianz, voted against the resolution put forward by shareholder activist group, Follow This, who are calling for Shell to align its targets with the Paris Climate Agreement at its most recent AGM.

The three insurers based in the Netherland’s who voted for the resolution, Vivat, NN and Aegon, represent more than £850 million in investment.

APG, Achmea IM and Achmea Own abstained from the vote, Allianz rejected the resolution, while ASR closed Shell of investments for sustainability reasons. read more

Pope Francis, who wrote a major document on protection of the environment from global warming in 2015, is expected to address the group on the last day of the June 8-9 conference.

The conference, organized by Notre Dame University in the United States, is expected to be attended by the heads or senior executives of companies including ExxonMobil, Eni, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Pemex, the source said.

The oil and gas industry has come under increasing pressure from investors and activists to play a bigger role in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gasses in order to meet goals set out in a 2015 climate agreement signed in Paris. read more

By Mathew Carr, 1 June 2018

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is attempting to market some of its natural gas as clean energy, packaging it with credits for eco-friendly projects that offset pollution coming from the fuel.

The oil giant is offering business customers in Europe a combination of gas and certificates that show emissions are offset with financing for carbon-reduction projects. It’s testing markets in Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain to gauge demand for what credits to use, according to David Wells, head of Shell Energy Europe. read more

Reuters Staff: Tuesday 29 May 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Friends of the Earth plans to file a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), accusing the oil company of failing to act on climate change, the environmental activist group said on Tuesday.

Shell has set out “ambitions” to halve carbon emissions by 2050 and expand in renewables, but the Anglo-Dutch company has come under pressure from investors and activists to reduce its carbon footprint and comply with the 2015 international Paris climate agreement. read more

A federal judge yesterday said he needed more information before deciding whether to dismiss lawsuits by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland alleging that Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), BP and ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) should pay to protect residents from the impacts of climate change.

The judge also wants the companies to produce additional material backing up claims that they should not be a part of the case because the court lacked jurisdiction over them. read more

The five defendants are the world’s largest investor-owned oil companies: Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., ConocoPhillips, BP PLC, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

Five oil companies are due to ask a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss a pair of climate change lawsuits filed by the cities of Oakland and San Francisco.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup will hear arguments on the companies’ motions for dismissal in his San Francisco courtroom at 8 a.m. Thursday.

The lawsuits filed last year claim the corporations created a
public nuisance by producing “massive quantities” of oil and natural gas and promoting their use while knowing they lead to global warming and rising sea levels. read more

By Jeremy Hodges, Lauren Leatherby and Kartikay Mehrotra
May 24, 2018

In the global fight against climate change, one tool is proving increasingly popular: litigation.

From California to the Philippines, activists, governments and concerned citizens are suing the biggest polluters and national governments over the effects of climate change at a break-neck pace.

“The courts are our last, best hope at this moment of irreversible harm to our planet and life on it,” said Julia Olson, an attorney for Our Children’s Trust, a legal challenge center in the U.S. that is involved in climate change litigation across 13 countries, including the U.S., Pakistan and Uganda. read more

Vera Eckert

Shell Ventures, a unit of the Anglo-Dutch oil major that has been boosting its investments in solar and other renewables, was a lead investor in the latest funding round, sonnen Chief executive Christoph Ostermann told Reuters.

“With this money, we can get started on important investment plans, especially in the United States and Australia,” he said, adding that existing shareholders also contributed extra cash.

“We also want to invest in broadening our sonnen community and our virtual power plant (VPP), and expand our offering of grid-related services,” the sonnen CEO said, adding that the firm aimed to turn a profit in Germany in two years. read more

Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg

Kelly Gilblom: 22 May 2018, 14:48 BST

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has seen off the two most debated issues at its shareholder meeting — the boss’s pay and responsibility in tackling climate change. But not without a degree of drama.

The company won the backing of about 94 percent of shareholders to not set specific emission-reduction targets, with Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden saying it is taking “leadership” on the issue. However, while almost 75 percent of investors also approved the remuneration report, it faced stiffer resistance after an influential advisory firm asked them to reject the package. read more

May 22, 2018

A group of 26 large institutional investors have petitioned Shell to formulate concrete goals in its effort to address the terms of the Paris climate accord.

The 26 investors, which have a total of $7.8trn under management, presented a statement to the Anglo-Dutch energy giant during Shell’s AGM in The Hague. The group of  26 includes HSBC Global Asset Management, AXA Investment Manager, Aegon, Calpers en MN.

In its statement, the investors applauded Shell’s ambition to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% and called on other oil and gas companies to follow suit. read more

Ron Bousso: MAY 22, 2018

THE HAGUE (Reuters) – Top investors in Royal Dutch Shell on Tuesday stepped up pressure on the oil and gas giant to commit to hard targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to battle climate change.

Shell has set out “ambitions” to halve carbon emissions by 2050 and expand in renewables energy, which Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said were ground breaking for the oil industry.

To view a graphic on Shell emissions, click: reut.rs/2Iya7Hf

“Nobody else comes close, it is seriously ambitious,” van Beurden said of Shell’s plan at the company’s annual general meeting in The Hague. read more

Jillian Ambrose, energy editor: 20 MAY 2018 • 7:30PM

Britain’s largest shareholder advisory groups have called on investors in Royal Dutch Shell to reject growing demands for the oil giant to take full responsibility for its impact on the environment.

Shell faces a binding shareholder vote tomorrow to decide whether to adopt rigorous accountability standards to bring its operations into line with the Paris climate agreement. Glass Lewis and ISS have urged shareholders to reject the “unduly burdensome” and “problematic” proposal. read more

Shell and BP may have to face down shareholder opposition to their chief executives’ pay packets at their annual general meetings next week.

Written by David McPhee – 18/05/2018 7:45 am

And for the third year in a row, Shell investors will vote on a resolution asking the company to set clear goals for meeting climate change targets.

Recommendations by the Institutional Shareholders Services (ISS) once again focus heavily on the pay of top executives at the energy giant, with ISS raising concerns over the 80% rate of bonus delivered to the CEO of Shell despite only reaching 70% on sustainable development targets.

Similarly, investors advisory firm Pensions and Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) continued to caution shareholders against sanctioning BP chief executive Bob Dudley’s remuneration package, which it called “excessive” in 2017 as it soared by more than £1 million to £9.5m. read more

Shell closed a deal to buy First Utility, a British energy company that owns neither power plants nor gas pipelines, in March. CreditTom Jamieson for The New York Times

By Stanley Reed

May 15, 2018

COVENTRY, England — There seems to be little about the scrappy energy company in central England that would appeal to Royal Dutch Shell, the button-down oil giant.

The little company, First Utility, is an upstart challenger. It offers friendly customer service, and low prices on electricity and natural gas. But it doesn’t own any power plants or gas pipelines; First Utility is a virtual energy company — the product of technological advancement and deregulation. read more

Attracta Mooney and Andrew Ward in London: 13 MAY 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is facing the threat of a shareholder rebellion against its chief executive’s €9m annual pay packet, piling further pressure on the energy group which was already braced for a clash with investors this month over climate change.  Institutional Shareholder Services, the advisory firm whose recommendations influence votes at annual meetings, has urged investors to reject Shell’s 2017 remuneration report, citing concerns about high payouts and safety issues.  Ben van Beurden, chief executive, received €8.9m last year… FULL FT ARTICLE read more

By Mark Chediak: 9 May 2018, 05:00 BST

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s corporate venture arm and GXP Investments led a $7.6 million investment in energy storage startup Axiom Energy to expand its service to grocery stores and cold-storage facilities. 
 
The round also included WorldQuant Ventures LLC, SV Tech Ventures and Meson Capital Partners LLC, according to a statement from the Richmond, California-based startup. 
 
Axiom’s refrigeration battery freezes tanks of salt water at night when electricity costs are low and then provides cooling services during the day when power prices are high. The company says it can reduce peak energy demand by as much as 40 percent. read more

By Bob Van Voris: 4 May 2018, 23:09 BST Updated on 5 May 2018, 02:09 BST

Case affects global economy, national security, companies say

New York argues oil companies denied climate change science

This lawsuit is based upon the fundamental principle that a corporation that makes a product causing severe harm when used exactly as intended should shoulder the costs of abating that harm. Defendants here produced, marketed, and sold massive quantities of fossil fuels—primarily oil and natural gas—despite knowing that the combustion and use of fossil fuels emit greenhouse gases (“GHG pollution” or “GHGs”), primarily carbon dioxide (“CO2”). Defendants have also known for decades that GHG pollution accumulates and remains in the atmosphere for up to hundreds of years, where it traps heat, a process commonly referred to as “climate change” or “global warming,” and that this process would cause grave harm.

Five of the world’s biggest oil companies asked a judge to throw out New York City’s lawsuit seeking to hold them responsible for costs related to the environmental changes caused by their products. 

BP Plc, Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp., and Royal Dutch Shell Plc argued that the court lacks the authority to resolve broad policy questions with “profound implications for the global economy, international relations and America’s national security.” read more

Church of England funds back AGM resolution calling for more aggressive targets

Andrew Ward and Leslie Hook in London: 4 May 2018

Investors with £28bn of assets under management, including pension funds of the Church of England and the UK Environment Agency, have declared support for a shareholder resolution that would force Royal Dutch Shell to adopt tougher targets for reducing carbon emissions. Shell’s board has urged shareholders to reject the resolution… FULL FT ARTICLE read more

Friday 4 May 2018

Protesters placed oily black hand prints on several windows at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh museum on Thursday afternoon because of its sponsorship by Shell, the Parool said.

The protest group Free Fossil Culture said the demonstration was to show its solidarity with environmentalist group Milieudefensie which said on 4 April it would take Shell to court over its climate change strategy.

The museum was not alerted to Thursday’s action ahead of time. In the meantime the windows have been cleaned. The museum said it will not take steps against the protesters. read more

Sinead Lynch, UK country chair for Shell, said yesterday that the oil giant knows that it “needs to change” in the coming energy transition, and “that is what Shell is going to do”.

Written by David McPhee – 03/05/2018

As part of a panel at the All-Energy conference in Glasgow, Ms Lynch said that Shell was part of a movement within the industry which was recognising the energy transition and that Shell was “beginning that change”.

She said: “Shell has a deep history and deep roots across Scotland, in our upstream business where we have been investing in and producing from the North Sea for 50 years. But also in our downstream business where we have been producing a number of downstream products to our customers here for almost a 100 years, and that’s a range of products that’s beginning to change. read more

Tristan R. Brown: April 30, 2018

Summary

• Royal Dutch Shell’s latest Energy Transition Report contains a demand outlook for oil and gas that is quite conservative compared to its industry peers.
• The company’s demand outlook is higher than what will likely be possible if the Paris Climate Agreement’s emissions targets are to be achieved, however.
• Almost 90% of respondents in a recent survey of major asset managers believe that climate risks will have a “significant” impact on oil and gas company valuations in the near-term.

The release of two separate reports in as many weeks on how integrated oil and gas producers will manage an anticipated transition toward low-carbon energy is likely to leave investors in Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A)(RDS.B) with some questions. The company released its new Energy Transition Report earlier this month, and the final product presents its strategy for maintaining its operations even as the world’s major economies (with the exception of the U.S.) work to meet their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under the Paris Climate Agreement. The report’s relatively phlegmatic conclusion stands in stark contrast to the results of an annual survey by the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association that identified strong concern from asset managers on the same count. read more

Shell reported underlying profits of $16 billion last yearDANIEL KALISZ/GETTY IMAGES

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: April 23 2018

Royal Dutch Shell is expected to report its strongest quarterly results since 2014 this week.

Boosted by the rebound in oil prices, the Anglo-Dutch energy company is expected to announce underlying profits of $5.3 billion for the three months up to March, compared with $3.8 billion in the same period last year.

Such a result would be the first time that profits have topped $5 billion since the third quarter of 2014, when crude prices were just beginning to fall below $100 a barrel. read more

Big Oil is under pressure to clean up its act CREDIT: MARY ALTAFFER/AP

Jillian Ambrose, energy editor

Europe’s largest oil super-major is not really an oil company, according to the boss of Royal Dutch Shell.

This is just as well for the energy giant, which plans to halve its carbon emissions within the coming decades as it bids to bring its offering in line with the global war on climate change.

“If anything we are more a gas and oil company, and on top of it, of course, we are a much broader energy company, as well,” Ben van Beurden insists. read more

The world’s biggest oil companies, for long typecast as villains of climate change, are seeking to reinvent themselves as environmental pioneers.

“We’re not going to be sitting back and say let’s see what society does and we’ll follow that,” said Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. “We’re more than prepared to be assertive and lean forward and say: ‘This is what it takes.”’

Irked by a shareholder resolution that would force Europe’s largest oil company to create specific emissions targets, the CEO took the unusual step of engaging with five reporters on Monday about Shell’s vision for a decarbonized world. Not only is Shell implementing its own, much stronger, measures to manage the energy transition, according to Van Beurden, but it can also drag the rest of the world along with it. read more

Tristan R. Brown: Apr. 16, 2018 12:44 PM ET

Summary

• A Netherlands environmental NGO has threatened to bring yet another climate change lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell if it does not fundamentally change its business operations.
• While multinational corporations are constantly being threatened with legal action, this specific one is unique.
• It has the hallmarks of recent climate lawsuits against Shell in the U.S., but would be based in a court system that has mandated stricter climate policy before.

Can non-shareholder private entities force oil and gas companies to accept lower returns on capital? Investors in Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B) will receive an answer to this question if an environmental NGO moves forward with a threatened lawsuit in the Netherlands that would require the company to do exactly that.

Notably, Shell recently committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% through 2050 via billions of dollars of investments in renewable energy capacity. The NGO in question, Friends of the Earth Netherlands (aka Milieudefensie), deems this effort insufficient and insists that the company must abandon its oil and gas reserves and be “net zero” (i.e., no net emissions of greenhouse gases) by that date instead. While Shell’s investors largely shrugged off the threat (see figure), if they even noticed it at all, the development represents the opening of a new front in the lawsuits being waged by U.S. municipalities against the company and its Big Oil competitors. read more

Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden has the same message for activists seeking to bind Royal Dutch Shell Plc to deep emissions cuts, and investors concerned about the merits of shifting away from oil and gas: Trust me.

He advised shareholders on Monday to reject a resolution from climate group Follow This that would set clear targets for the company’s greenhouse-gas emissions, more specific than its current broad “ambition.” He also reiterated his intention for Shell to make most of its money from clean energy in 20 years, such as renewables, hydrogen or carbon capture in 20 years.  read more

Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell defended its ambition to cut carbon emissions on Monday, urging investors to oppose a shareholder resolution arguing that the oil and gas giant is not doing enough to meet international targets to tackle climate change.

The Anglo-Dutch company, like many of its peers, has faced growing investor pressure to address the need to reduce fossil fuel burning, forcing it to seek a delicate balance with a need to secure growing returns from its traditional business. read more

By Janene Pieters on Monday April 16, 2018

Shell “should have been more assertive” in its warnings about climate change, Ben van Beurden, CEO of the Dutch oil and gas giant said in a podcast by Studio Energie. Environmental group Milieudefensie recently filed a lawsuit against Shell for the role it played in the climate problems the world currently faces. 

In 1991 Shell released a film that outlined a disturbing picture of the problems climate change will cause in the future. “Perhaps we should have talked louder, maybe we should have made a bigger problem out if it? To be honest, I think, if we look back on that, we could and should have been more assertive”, Van Beurden said in the podcast, according to NOS. “Because now the problem is put on us, while ultimately it is of course a much broader social problem.”  read more