Reading uni cuts fossil fuel investments by more than half

By Alex Seabrook Local Democracy Reporter: 6th November 2019

THE University of Reading (UoR) has cut its investment in fossil fuels by more than half in the past year – after pressure from students.

The university’s £63million endowment fund now has £729,575 invested in Royal Dutch Shell.

That’s according to financial statements recently published, which show what the fund is invested in as of July 31.

Last year, the university had £2,628,305 in fossil fuels, as of July 31, 2018, according to the previous statements. read more

Shell floating wind deal ‘sensible’ but won’t herald investment revolution, analyst says

by David McPhee: 06/11/2019, 7:15 am Updated: 06/11/2019, 7:35 am

The timing of oil giant Shell’s decision to acquire French floating wind firm Eolfi is “very sensible”, but isn’t likely to herald a revolution in how it invests its money, according to a top energy expert.

Adam Forsyth, head analyst at Longspur Research, said that while he considers the move to be a wise investment for Shell, he’s not entirely convinced that a great number of super-majors will follow.

He said: “It seems very sensible for Shell to be making this acquisition. read more

Financial Times: Energy majors eye swifter shift to green

David Sheppard, Energy Editor

Extracts

This week brings quarterly results from the world’s biggest energy companies. Some will beat expectations, some will miss, and after a brief flurry of algo-driven share price adjustment your average investor will carry on hating oil stocks, regardless.

John Browne, the former BP chief, said last week that it felt like the energy transition was “collapsing in time”, with changes towards cleaner energy that were once expected to take decades now being demanded by the public — and increasingly investors — within years. read more

20 October 2019: The Sunday Times

What seemed like the perfect route to a low-carbon world now looks like a risky bet, writes John Collingridge

What do the former Redcar steelworks on Teesside, a university in the Midlands and forests in the Scottish Highlands have in common? Answer: Big Oil is praying they hold the key to its future.

Strikes by schoolchildren, the rise of “flight-shaming” and an exodus of investors have left the energy industry reeling. Oil giants’ multibillion-pound bet — that gas will power the global economy into a low-carbon future — now looks risky.

As the mood changes, Big Oil is making increasingly ambitious — and desperate — attempts to clean itself up and reduce or trap carbon emissions. For giants including Shell, Total and BP, that means carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Redcar, promoting hydrogen as an alternative fuel, such as a pilot at Keele University — and even planting forests in Scotland. read more

AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD: 25 OCTOBER 2019

The arch-sceptics of the International Energy Agency have embraced offshore wind, saying it can meet the world’s entire electricity demand 11 times over even when zones are set aside for uses such as shipping, defence and fishing. “Its potential is vast,” said the IEA report released on Friday.

Europe and North America can meet their needs three times over from shallow waters close to shore, as can much of South America, Russia, and New Zealand.

This leaves plenty spare to make green hydrogen from electrolysis that can be used for back-up power, heat, transport for rail, trucks and ships, and the production of zero-carbon steel, cement and glass. read more

By Danielle Haynes

Oct. 22 (UPI) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to stay the city of Baltimore’s lawsuit against a group of oil companies it accuses of contributing to climate change.

The high court’s decision clears the way for the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether the case should proceed in state court. The oil companies — including BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell — requested the stay, seeking to have various state-level lawsuits moved into federal court to eliminate the “costs and burdens of duplicative litigation.” read more

Can you strike a blow against climate change by getting rid of your oil company stocks — and can you do it without losing money? The idea is not just for activists anymore. Norway took a partial step in selling off oil and gas stocks in its massive $1 trillion wealth fund. And a growing number of investors who control trillions more are using the threat of divestment as a cudgel to force energy companies to adopt greener ways. Together these approaches are producing a notable disruption in the energy field. read more

By Kelly Gilblom: 22 October 2019, 00:01 BST

Group of 300 British lawmakers seeking fossil fuel divestment

Dumping shares could restrict companies’ access to new capital

A group of 300 British politicians are pushing the trustees of the Parliamentary Pension Fund to sell shares of BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to ward off the risks of climate change.

The group, organized by environmental non-profit 350.org, adds to pressure on the fossil fuel industry. Over the last two weeks, climate change activists from the group Extinction Rebellion have disrupted London by blocking roads and climbing on commercial airplanes. Just weeks before that, an estimated 7.6 million people globally took to the streets to protest continually rising emissions. read more

Shell is planning to be the first fuel retailer in the UK to take out traditional fuels from an operating service station and replace them with an electric vehicle-only charging hub.

Application for planning permission for the development on the company’s site in Fulham, West London, will be put forward at the end of this month, with the hope and expectation that the hub will be operational by the middle of next year.

The announcement comes as Shell celebrates the installation of its 50th UK EV charging point, and the installation of the first 150kW post on a service station. read more

Harry Dempsey in London

Shareholder initiatives, climate protests and government net zero targets are all piling pressure on Big Oil to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by shifting towards renewable energy. Critics have condemned the industry’s response as insufficient, with even the most progressive oil majors devoting only a fraction of their research and development expenditure to low carbon tech. Royal Dutch Shell, for example, has said it is investing about 10 per cent of its $1bn annual R&D budget on renewables and less than a quarter on what it defines as low-carbon initiatives such as hydrogen, and biofuels. read more

But in an interview with Reuters, Ben van Beurden expressed concern that some shareholders could abandon the world’s second-largest listed energy company due partly to what he called the “demonisation” of oil and gas and “unjustified” worries that its business model was unsustainable.

The 61-year-old Dutch executive in recent years became one of the sector’s most prominent voices advocating action over global warming in the wake of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Shell, which supplies around 3% of the world’s energy, set out in 2017 a plan to halve the intensity of its greenhouse emissions by the middle of the century, based in large part on building one of the world’s biggest power businesses. read more

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive took aim beyond the energy sector to call on leaders of other industries including aviation, shipping and steel to jointly draw up plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

Ben van Beurden also warned on Wednesday that energy companies that do not collaborate in the fight against climate under the 2015 Paris agreement risk going out of business.

“Climate change is the biggest challenge facing the energy industry, but the energy industry isn’t the biggest challenge for the world trying to tackle climate change,” van Beurden told the Oil & Money conference. read more

Big investors fail to pressure companies over fossil-fuel lobbying

Little support for disclosure resolutions that call on groups to divulge payments

Siobhan Riding read more

Brad Thompson Reporter: Oct 2, 2019

Shell has warned Western Australia’s environmental watchdog that billions of dollars of investment are at risk if it contributes to mixed messages on tackling greenhouse gas emissions.

The oil and gas giant urged the Environmental Protection Authority to hold fire on handing down new emissions guidelines for approving large-scale projects in the resources rich state.

Shell also rejected the notion that it was possible to introduce a policy requiring net zero offsets in the oil and gas industry. read more

Big Oil Fights For Its Life

Extracts from an article by Tsvetana Paraskova – Sep 30, 2019, 5:00 PM CDT

Just as Big Oil has returned to growing profits after the 2015-2016 price crash, the world’s largest oil companies are facing another formidable challenge amid growing calls from activists, shareholders, and institutional investors to start saving our planet.

The world’s largest oil firms already invest in green energy—including in wind, solar, biofuels, hydrogen, and electric vehicles (EVs) charging networks—but these alternatives are not their core business and will not be such for years, and probably decades, to come. read more

MP Pension’s board of directors pledged in 2018 to dump all shares in coal, tar sands and oil activities by the end of 2020, and excluded all coal and tar sands companies from its investments last year.

Dutch pension fund blacklists oil companies, including Shell

4 SEPTEMBER 2019 BY RACHEL FIXSEN

The Danish pension fund for academics, MP Pension, has blacklisted 10 of the world’s largest oil firms, a decision that will mean divesting DKK644m (€86m) of stocks.

In addition, the pension fund is considering the impact of divesting from bonds issued by oil firms.

The fund said it wanted to take responsibility for the green transition while securing long-term investment returns.

Anders Schelde, CIO of MP Pension, said: “We do not believe that this sector can deliver a return on a par with the rest of the market in the coming years. read more