LONDON: Energy giant BP faced down a shareholder revolt over its decision to slow its energy transition on Thursday (April 27), with activist investors trying to block the re-election of the head of the board of directors.
Activists from Fossil Free London disrupted the speeches of board chairman Helge Lund and chief executive Bernard Looney, deriding changes to the energy major's plans to achieve carbon neutrality by mid-century.
“2050 is far too late. You need to take action now. It’s not good enough,” one demonstrator shouted out as BP executives addressed the gathering.
Another activist heckled: “As individuals you are responsible for the chaos you impose. Stop drilling for fossil fuels.”
Some of Britains biggest pension funds had warned they would oppose the renewal of Lund's mandate at the annual general meeting here, but in the end they gathered only 9.57% of the votes.
BP and many of its peers are seeking to pivot towards cleaner energy and away from fossil fuels. But BP’s plans have sparked deep scepticism from environmental groups who accuse it of greenwashing and doing too little, too late – while profiteering from soaring energy prices on Russia's war in Ukraine.
Activist shareholders’ group Follow This, which wants “Big Oil to go green”, also put forward a resolution calling for BP to be more ambitious in its climate objectives.
This received 16.75% of the votes.
Looney said: “We are delighted with the overwhelming support we received in the votes today.”
He acknowledged that not all investors agreed with their climate policy but “we respect that and their engagement and challenge make us better”.
Looney called Thursday’s shareholder vote a mandate “to get on with the job of delivering the transformation strategy we have laid out”.
The London-listed giant in February announced that it expected to boost its profits between now and 2030 by investing more in both renewable energy and hydrocarbons, slowing the pace of its transition.
BP nevertheless still holds to its 2050 net-zero target.
Follow This founder Mark van Baal said BP is being “misleading to shareholders” in affirming its transformation plan is in line with the Paris climate agreement.
The 2015 pact aims to limit global warming to below 2C and if possible 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Follow This believes that BP won't meet net-zero by mid-century unless it takes more ambitious steps by 2030.
Green pressure group Greenpeace, which only last year was calling BP “the most ambitious” of the global majors, criticised the plans and accused it of bowing down to investors and governments.
Nest, one of the pension funds that said it will vote against Lund’s re-election, said that “if BP continues on this path we have serious concerns about them reaching their net zero goal and the long-term success of the company”.
It said it wants to see BP “investing more in low-carbon solutions and renewables, instead of new oil and gas sites.” – AFP
