Shell plc is back in the headlines — and not for saving the planet.

DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion/commentary piece and not financial or investment advice.

Shell’s Latest Pay Pillage

Shell plc is back in the headlines — and not for saving the planet. According to City AM, the oil giant is poised to significantly boost its chief executive’s pay by at least £4.5 million a year, pushing Wael Sawan’s total compensation well into the high-teens in millions if board proposals are approved. 

Under the reported changes to Shell’s executive remuneration policy, Sawan’s long-term stock awards could be expanded from six times his base salary to nine times, lifting possible annual pay to around £19.2 million — comfortably in the upper echelons of FTSE-100 boss payouts.

That’s nearly £20 million for steering a company still deeply invested in fossil fuels — even as the planet burns. Which raises some important questions about performance metrics in the boardroom.

Pay vs. Planet: A Management Philosophy

When Sawan took the helm in January 2023, Shell already had a checkered climate record. Under his watch, Shell abandoned earlier plans to reduce oil output annually and doubled down on upstream oil and gas production, reversing previous modest transition targets. 

Shrugging off the melancholic irony, today’s proposed compensation bump comes after a notable shrinkage in long-term climate commitments, continued heavy investment in oil and gas, and ongoing cost-cutting on green energy projects — moves that have attracted stinging criticism from environmental campaigners. Earlier in 2025, global watchdog Global Witness slammed Sawan’s bonus as “obscene” amid worsening climate impacts and rising energy bills for ordinary people. 

If there were Oscars for executive pay out of sync with global priorities, Shell might be taking home the gold.

Who’s Financing This Paycheck? The Institutional Backers

Shell’s board and pay committee didn’t arrive at this decision in a vacuum — and institutional investors hold meaningful sway over boardroom decisions.

Shell plc’s largest institutional shareholders include BlackRock, The Vanguard Group, and Norges Bank Investment Management, among others — collectively commanding significant blocks of stock and therefore influence. 

These asset managers have historically supported shareholder returns strategies — including dividends and buybacks — that enrich investors and underpin executive rewards. Shell has actively consulted with its “largest shareholders” on the proposed executive pay policy. 

Some responsible-investment advocacy groups argue that executive compensation structures like Shell’s should be realigned with long-term climate goals rather than short-term share price gains. In fact, groups such as ShareAction have in the past pushed investors to oppose fossil fuel pay policies, arguing they can misprice climate risk and misalign executive incentives with sustainable outcomes. 

A Disconnect Between Public Pain and Boardroom Gain

It’s worth noting that Shell’s recent results haven’t been universally stellar. In 2024, the company’s profits fell by around 16 %, yet the CEO still received a significant bump in total pay and bonuses. 

Meanwhile, household energy costs remain high, climate disasters mount, and public demand for corporate accountability intensifies. From environmental NGOs to everyday voters, the optics of a colossal pay package for steering a fossil-fuel-centric strategy could not be worse.

Conclusion: Compensation That Warms More Than Just Share Prices

So here’s the math of modern corporate climate strategy in 2026:

• £19 million potential annual pay for a CEO focused on fossils.

• Billions still poured into oil and gas infrastructure.

• Climate targets watered down or dropped.

• Environmental harm and energy costs hitting households globally.

The boardroom defends this as “pay for performance,” but the public might see it as pay for persistence in pumping carbon into the sky. If executive incentives truly aligned with the public good, perhaps we’d see pay rises for those closing coal plants, not for those expanding oil rigs.

Until that day, Shell’s new pay proposal isn’t just a corporate announcement — it’s a stark illustration of where priorities still lie.

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