Most oil majors are stepping up investments in green energy but they are facing a barrage of recriminations and protests from activists for their refusal to completely forsake fossil fuels.
Campaigners again used a series of shareholder meetings in the past month to make their anger known and push energy firms to do more to shift towards solar, wind, and other cleaner projects.
In the latest action, hundreds of protesters tried to block the gathering of France’s TotalEnergies in Paris on Friday, prompting police to use tear gas to disperse some who sat in front of the venue.
Earlier this week in London, protesters demonstrated outside Shell’s annual general meeting. Inside, activists interrupted the opening remarks of CEO Wael Sawan while others tried to take the stage.
Late last month, activists from Fossil Free London disrupted the speeches of BP’s chairman and CEO.
Groups of investors are also demanding change — even the Church of England’s pensions board has weighed in, deciding to join others in voting against Shell’s “green” transition plan and demanding more ambitions carbon-cutting targets.
Since 2021 the International Energy Agency (IEA) has called for a stop to new oil projects so the world meets the goal of keeping global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
But new oil fields are still opening as energy firms say they must meet the unabated demand for the fossil fuel.
“Climate is at the heart of our concerns,” TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne told Friday’s shareholder meeting as he spoke behind a plexiglass that was put up for the occasion.
He said his group has done more than others to invest in renewables but that world oil demand is growing and “if TotalEnergies doesn’t respond to this demand, others will do it for us”.
Shareholders later voted overwhelmingly in favour of the company’s climate strategy, tough 30 percent backed a non-binding resolution from activist investors calling for more ambitious emissions targets.