By Katie Herzog on 14 Mar 2016

Shell Oil released its 2015 annual review last week, and the most surprising thing in it may be how concerned the company is with climate change. It’s hardly what you’d expect from Big Oil, and yet the words “climate change” occur 15 times in the 228 page report. While this may seem minor, it’s a hell of a lot more than climate change is discussed by most other oil monsters (Looking at you, Exxon). Shell, unlike many oil giants, actively acknowledges and even embraces climate action — at least, on paper. “It was encouraging to see governments reach a global climate agreement in Paris in December,” the report reads. “The agreement should now encourage countries to develop policies that balance environmental concerns with enabling a decent quality of life for more people.” read more

Ivan Penn: 18 FEB 2016

A Southern California congressman and two other representatives are calling for an investigation of Shell Oil over whether it deceived the public on climate change at the same time it was preparing its business operations for rising sea levels. 

In a Feb. 17 letter to U.S. Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch, the three members of Congress said growing evidence suggests there may have been “a conspiracy between Shell, Exxon Mobil and potentially other companies in the fossil fuel industry.”

U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) sent the letter along with Rep. Peter Welch of Vermont and Rep. Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, both Democrats.

Their letter cites an investigation published by the Los Angeles Times that reported that in 1989 Shell Oil announced it was redesigning a long-term, $3-billion natural gas platform in the North Sea to deal with rising sea levels from global warming. Despite this and other incidents, the congressmen noted, “Shell apparently decided to fund climate deniers.” read more

Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos and Royal Dutch Shell stand to lose roughly $77 billion in projects

By Steve Birr: Daily Caller News Foundation

If world leaders agree on a 2 degree Celsius warming limit at the Paris climate summit, $2 trillion in new coal and petroleum projects risk being killed, according to a new report.

The London based Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) environmental think tank says that efforts by world governments will negatively impact the energy industry and warns investors that coal, oil and gas will be hit hardest. Mexico’s Petroleos Mexicanos and Royal Dutch Shell stand to lose roughly $77 billion in projects, while ExxonMobil would lose about $73 billion, according to Reuters. read more

“Shell’s track record on climate change does not inspire us with confidence...”

By business reporter Michael Janda and staff: 2 Oct 2015

Shell’s global chief executive says an effective carbon price is needed to tackle climate change, whether through a trading or tax system.

Speaking exclusively to ABC TV’s The Business, Ben van Beurden said a price on carbon was necessary to discourage pollution.

“Putting, in one form or another, a real, clear price on carbon that compels people to act with rational economic actions, I think is something that we need,” he told presenter Ticky Fullerton.

When pressed over the Government’s current Direct Action plan, which provides funding for programs to cut emissions rather than charging heavy emitters, Mr van Beurden said the design of the system was a matter for politicians in each country. read more

Green Business | Thu Sep 24, 2015 

Representatives from energy companies including oil heavyweights Shell and Statoil have joined forces to advise on making cleaner energy decisions, the latest push by energy firms to become more pro-active on climate issues.

Shell Chairman Chad Holliday, Statoil Vice-President Bjorn Otto Sverdrup and RWE Chief Executive Peter Terium are among a list of commissioners acting in a personal capacity to advise governments on how to change their energy markets without damaging the environment. read more

Sep 24 2015, 11:59 ET | By: Carl Surran, SA News Editor

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and GE are teaming up with the McKinsey consultancy and other large companies to advise governments on how to combat global warming without weakening their economies, Financial Times reports.

The companies also are backing a $6M “energy transitions commission” to create a blueprint for a greener global economy in the next 15 years.

But the commission, due to be formally unveiled at a conference in Texas on Monday, already is under fire from some environmental groups who ask if a body supported by fossil fuel companies can offer objective guidance on global warming. read more

September 11, 2015

New work from an international team including Carnegie’s Ken Caldeira demonstrates that the planet’s remaining fossil fuel resources would be sufficient to melt nearly all of Antarctica if burned, leading to a 50- or 60-meter (160 to 200 foot) rise in sea level. Because so many major cities are at or near sea level, this would put many highly populated areas where more than a billion people live under water, including New York City and Washington, DC. It is published in Science Advances. read more

WWF-UK LETTER PUBLISHED BY THE FINANCIAL TIMES

August 16, 2015

Sir, We are profoundly alarmed at Shell commencing drilling into oil-bearing rock in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. Drilling in this fragile habitat is riddled with risks for local communities and for the environment, including species that depend on the sea ice, such as polar bears and bowhead whales. The reckless pursuit of hydrocarbons is also incompatible with tackling climate change.

There is no reliable technology for the effective containment, recovery or clean-up of oil spilt in ice-infested waters. Shell has not published the results of the testing of its safety capping stack and containment dome, undertaken after its failed Alaska operations in 2012. Therefore the public cannot be sure that the environment would be protected in the event of a blowout. Meanwhile, at Hanna Shoal, near the drill sites, thousands of walrus haul out on to sea ice — a reminder of the environmental stakes for the Arctic. read more

The washingtonBy Steven Mufson August 7, 2015

Shell Oil will not renew its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, citing differences with the controversial corporate lobbying group over the issue of climate change.

“ALEC advocates for specific economic growth initiatives, but its stance on climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own,” said Curtis Smith, a spokesman for Shell. “We have long recognized both the importance of the climate challenge and the critical role energy has in determining quality of life for people across the world.  As part of an ongoing review of memberships and affiliations, we will be letting our association with ALEC lapse when the current contracted term ends early next year.” read more

Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years

Suzanne Goldenberg, US environment correspondent

Last modified on Thursday 9 July 2015 

ExxonMobil, the world’s biggest oil company, knew as early as 1981 of climate change – seven years before it became a public issue, according to a newly discovered email from one of the firm’s own scientists. Despite this the firm spent millions over the next 27 years to promote climate denial. read more

By Javier Blas: June 23, 2015

By the time the convention chat turned into action, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc, Total SA, Eni SpA, Statoil ASA and BG Group Plc published an unprecedented open letter on climate change. Breaking with their biggest U.S. competitors, they announced their support for efforts to put a cost on polluting, acknowledging they were on the wrong side of history.

“They have massively changed the rhetorical position,” says Charlie Kronick, senior climate adviser at Greenpeace in London. “They know that if you are not at the table, you could end up being lunch.” read more

The true nature of big oil sponsorships was exposed last week, after it was discovered that Shell had sought to influence the content of the climate change exhibition “Atmosphere”, which it sponsors at the Science Museum.

Emails obtained via Freedom of Information requests show how the company positioned its own staff as advisors: “Regarding the gallery update, can I check whether you have touched base with David Hone to see if he would like to participate in the content refresh?” read one email from May last year. read more

Chris Matthews/Fortune

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart calls for divestment in fossil-fuel companies

When the oilmen themselves are arguing for stronger action to fight climate change, it’s probably time to start acting.

Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, the former chairman of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, said that the lack of progress the world has made on climate change is, “distressing,” and that it was “rational” for investors to start divesting their money from companies that extract fossil fuels, according to a report in The Guardian.

According to the paper, “His striking remarks are the most supportive of divestment made by any senior figure in the fossil fuel business.” read more

Shell’s former chair calls fossil fuel divestment ‘rational’

By Steve Hargreaves: 4 June 2015

The former chairman of Royal Dutch Shell said selling oil stocks is a “rational” response to the failure of the oil industry to take meaningful action on climate change.

He is the latest to lend support to the growing campaign for investors to dump shares of fossil fuel companies.

“Divestment is a rational approach,” Mark Moody-Stuart was quoted by the Guardian as saying during a recent dinner in London. “If you think your money can be used somewhere else, you should switch it. Selective divestment or portfolio-switching is actually what investors should be doing.” read more

Fossil fuel divestment is rational, says former Shell chairman read more

Article by Tara Patel and Javier Blas published 1 June 2015 by Bloomberg.com 

The heads of Europe’s largest oil and gas companies joined together for the first time to call for governments to agree on carbon pricing at a United Nations climate summit, opening a schism with their American rivals.

“It’s clear that the subject isn’t viewed in the same way on both sides of the Atlantic,” Total SA Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne, one of the signatories, said on Monday at a press conference in Paris. “We are working with those who come forward.”

The banding together on climate-change policy by BP Plc, Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Statoil ASA, Total and BG Group Plc is unprecedented and follows comments by some of their CEOs calling for the industry to be part of the debate on a deal limiting greenhouse gases. It also highlights division within the sector as the top American companies, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp., decided to stay out of the European initiative. read more