[ad_1]
Shell plans to increase the annual amount of money invested in renewable energy to US $ 4 billion, head of supermajor gas and new energy, Maarten Wetselaar told The Guardian in an interview.
This figure is double the current maximum annual investment Shell has allocated for cleaner energy initiatives, but the increase will only be realized if this initial investment proves to be financially reasonable.
"I want my current business to be financially credible enough not only for companies, but also shareholders, who want to double it and see more," Wetselaar told The Guardian.
Shell has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent over the next five decades because it is shifting to more renewable energy, including biofuels, and increasing operational efficiency, in the latest sign that one of the world's top Big Oil players is determined to move away from business the main.
"Our view is that people need to overcome the dual challenges of climate change but also accommodate higher energy demand – because of course poor energy needs to gain access to energy too – we must reduce the carbon footprint of the energy system as a society to a net zero level," said chief executive Ben van Beurden last year.
Shell was also the target of shareholder activist pressure in this regard. For four consecutive years, Follow This, a Dutch investment group that targets oil suppliers, has submitted a resolution that requires companies to move deeper into renewable energy and move away from their core business in oil. Next year will not be an exception: Follow This has submitted a resolution to be elected at the 2019 AGM Shell, a resolution that seeks to force companies to approach their business objectives in accordance with Paris Accord commitments made by more than one hundred countries.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
Read more from Oilprice.com:
[ad_2]
Source link