A Tough Week for Big Oil and Gas

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Big oil companies took hit after hit last week, as the world pushes to reduce emissions, lessen reliance on fossil fuels, and reverse climate change. 

tl;dr:

These announcements all came within 24 hours of each other, and everyone's getting involved: shareholders, investors, courts, and more.

Shell Ruling

A Dutch court ordered Shell to slash its emissions harder and faster than planned. The ruling is expected to have far-reaching consequences across the oil and gas industry. 

The court ruled that Shell has to slash emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels. That’s much more, much faster than Shell planned. It had pledged to reduce its GHG emissions by 20% by 2030, and to net-zero by 2050.

While only legally binding in the Netherlands, the ruling may be scrutinized in other countries amid a new era of litigation related to climate change. “Judges around the world are being confronted by climate change cases and are looking to other judges for points of reference,” said Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

Shell reportedly plans to appeal the decision.

ExxonMobil Board Shakeup

At least two nominees from activist investment firm Engine No. 1 won seats on ExxonMobil's board, despite an all-hands-on-deck battle by the company to defeat the insurgents. A third seat may yet fall to the small hedge fund, which has just a 0.02 percent stake in Exxon. The fund nominated four “independent” candidates it says are capable of pushing the company in a more sustainable direction.

“This is a watershed day for climate,” said Danielle Fugere, president of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. “The speed of change is building and I think we all can acknowledge now that there's no longer room for these companies to make changes on the margins. They have to jump in, and start transitioning to a net zero world.”

Chevron Shareholder Vote

Chevron’s shareholders approved a proposal that forces deeper cuts than the previously announced 35 percent per unit of production by 2028. 

The proposal targets so-called "Scope 3" emissions, those generated by the use of the company's products, which account for a majority of the emissions for which the company is responsible. Shareholders for ConocoPhillips passed a similar resolution earlier this month.

Big Accountability for Big Oil

The 24-hour period when all these announcements came down was a reminder to big oil companies that investors, activists, stockholders, and courts are serious about holding them accountable.

It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day for big oil and gas.