Paradigm Shift: Oil Companies Required to Cut C02 Emissions by Court and Shareholders

Royal Dutch Shell Headquarters

A judge has ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut their emissions by 2030 to reduce planet warming carbon emissions by 45% from the 2019 level.  On the same day, shareholders at Exxon and Chevron backed more emission cuts, as well, in some cases, against the wishes of their C-Suite executives. 

"The court orders Royal Dutch Shell, by means of its corporate policy, to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 with respect to the level of 2019 for the Shell group and the suppliers and customers of the group," Judge Larisa Alwin

On the same day, Exxon and Chevron faced shareholder rebellions over emissions after Exxon failed to stop a coup by a climate-activist hedge fund, Engine 1, that successfully took over two seats on its board. Just prior to Exxon's course change, a majority of Chevron's shareholders (61%) voted for a measure from a Dutch activist group, Follow This, to cut their emissions, going against the wishes of their C-Suite. 

"US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron have suffered shareholder rebellions from climate activists and disgruntled institutional investors over their failure to set a strategy for a low-carbon future [...] The activist win against Chevron was the third successful insurrection coordinated by Follow This against the boards of US oil companies after it forced through votes to cut emissions at ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 earlier this month." Jillian Ambrose at The Guardian

Climate activist, Bill McKibben, watching the announcements in succession, remarked on Twitter: "Wow, wow, wow," and then followed with this tweet summarizing the day's events:

 

While this does not guarantee the IPCC target for reductions in emissions by 2030 will be met, it does mark a significant change in legal and shareholder requirements toward corporate social responsibility in the industry that is the cause of major emissions that contribute to climate change.