Environment

Shell’s board of directors sued over climate strategy in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit

Published

2 years ago

February 9, 2023

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Shell recently reported its highest-ever annual profit of nearly $40 billion.

Paul Ellis | Afp | Getty Images

Shell‘s directors are being personally sued for allegedly failing to adequately manage the risks associated with the climate emergency in a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that could have widespread implications for how other companies plan to cut emissions.

Environmental law firm ClientEarth, in its capacity as a shareholder, filed the lawsuit against the British oil major’s board at the high court of England and Wales on Thursday.

It alleges 11 members of Shell’s board are mismanaging climate risk, breaching company law by failing to implement an energy transition strategy that aligns with the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement.

The claim, which has the backing of institutional investors with over 12 million shares in the company, is said to be the first case in the world seeking to hold a board of directors liable for failure to properly prepare for the energy transition.

“Shell may be making record profits now due to the turmoil of the global energy market, but the writing is on the wall for fossil fuels long term,” Paul Benson, senior lawyer at ClientEarth, said in a statement.

“The shift to a low-carbon economy is not just inevitable, it’s already happening. Yet the Board is persisting with a transition strategy that is fundamentally flawed, leaving the company seriously exposed to the risks that climate change poses to Shell’s future success — despite the Board’s legal duty to manage those risks,” Benson said.

We hope the whole energy industry sits up and take notice.

Mark Fawcett

Chief Investment Officer at Nest

The group of investors supporting the claim include U.K. pension funds Nest and London CIV, Swedish national pension fund AP3, French asset manager Sanso IS and Danske Bank Asset Management, among others. Altogether, the institutional investors hold more than half a trillion U.S. dollars in total assets under management.

“We do not accept ClientEarth’s allegations,” a Shell spokesperson said. “Our directors have complied with their legal duties and have, at all times, acted in the best interests of the company.”

“ClientEarth’s attempt, by means of a derivative claim, to overturn the board’s policy as approved by our shareholders has no merit. We will oppose their application to obtain the court’s permission to pursue this claim,” they added.

Shell, which is aiming to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050, said it believes its climate targets are Paris-aligned.

ClientEarth said leading third-party assessments have suggested this is not the case, however, noting Shell’s strategy excludes short to medium-term targets to cut the emissions from the products it sells, known as Scope 3 emissions, despite this accounting for over 90% of the firm’s overall emissions.

The aspirational goal of the Paris Agreement is to pursue efforts to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by slashing greenhouse gas emissions. The fight to keep global heating under 1.5 degrees Celsius is widely regarded as critically important because so-called tipping points become more likely beyond this level. These are thresholds at which small changes can lead to dramatic shifts in the Earth’s entire support system.

To be sure, the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and gas, is the chief driver of the climate emergency.

Big Oil profit bonanza

The case comes shortly after Shell reported its highest-ever annual profit of nearly $40 billion.

The energy giant’s 2022 earnings smashed its previous annual profit record of $28.4 billion in 2008 and were more than double the firm’s full-year 2021 profit of $19.3 billion.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan described 2022 as a “huge year” for the company, saying he felt privileged to be stepping into the role he started on Jan. 1.

“As we look ahead, I think we have a unique opportunity to be able to succeed as the winner in the energy transition. We have a portfolio that I think is second to none,” Sawan said.

Shell’s results came as part of a Big Oil profit bonanza last year, bolstered by soaring fossil fuel prices and robust demand since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Activists from Greenpeace set up a mock-petrol station price board displaying the Shell’s net profit for 2022 as they demonstrate outside the company’s headquarters in London on Feb. 2, 2023.

Daniel Leal | Afp | Getty Images

Nest Chief Investment Officer Mark Fawcett said the case against Shell’s board of directors showed investors were prepared to challenge those who aren’t deemed to be doing enough to transition their business.

“We hope the whole energy industry sits up and takes notice,” Fawcett said.

Separately, London CIV’s Head of Responsible Investment Jacqueline Amy Jackson said, “In our view, a Board of Directors of a high-emitting company has a fiduciary duty to manage climate risk, and in so doing, consider the impacts of its decisions on climate change, and to reduce its contribution to it.”

“We consider that ClientEarth’s claim is in our client funds’ interests as a shareholder of Shell, and we support it,” Jackson added.

Environment

Europe’s wind power hits 20%, but 3 challenges stall progress

Published

14 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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Europe’s wind power hits 20%, but 3 challenges stall progress

Wind energy powered 20% of all electricity consumed in Europe (19% in the EU) in 2024, and the EU has set a goal to grow this share to 34% by 2030 and more than 50% by 2050.

To stay on track, the EU needs to install 30 GW of new wind farms annually, but it only managed 13 GW in 2024 – 11.4 GW onshore and 1.4 GW offshore. This is what’s holding the EU back from achieving its wind growth goals.

Three big problems holding Europe’s wind power back

Europe’s wind power growth is stalling for three key reasons:

Permitting delays. Many governments haven’t implemented the EU’s new permitting rules, making it harder for projects to move forward.

Grid connection bottlenecks. Over 500 GW(!) of potential wind capacity is stuck in grid connection queues.

Slow electrification. Europe’s economy isn’t electrifying fast enough to drive demand for more renewable energy.

Brussels-based trade association WindEurope CEO Giles Dickson summed it up: “The EU must urgently tackle all three problems. More wind means cheaper power, which means increased competitiveness.”

Permitting: Germany sets the standard

Permitting remains a massive roadblock, despite new EU rules aimed at streamlining the process. In fact, the situation worsened in 2024 in many countries. The bright spot? Germany. By embracing the EU’s permitting rules — with measures like binding deadlines and treating wind energy as a public interest priority — Germany approved a record 15 GW of new onshore wind in 2024. That’s seven times more than five years ago.

If other governments follow Germany’s lead, Europe could unlock the full potential of wind energy and bolster energy security.

Grid connections: a growing crisis

Access to the electricity grid is now the biggest obstacle to deploying wind energy. And it’s not just about long queues — Europe’s grid infrastructure isn’t expanding fast enough to keep up with demand. A glaring example is Germany’s 900-megawatt (MW) Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm. The turbines are ready to go, but the grid connection won’t be in place until 2026.

This issue isn’t isolated. Governments need to accelerate grid expansion if they’re serious about meeting renewable energy targets.

Electrification: falling behind

Wind energy’s growth is also tied to how quickly Europe electrifies its economy. Right now, electricity accounts for just 23% of the EU’s total energy consumption. That needs to jump to 61% by 2050 to align with climate goals. However, electrification efforts in key sectors like transportation, heating, and industry are moving too slowly.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has tasked Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen with crafting an Electrification Action Plan. That can’t come soon enough.

More wind farms awarded, but challenges persist

On a positive note, governments across Europe awarded a record 37 GW of new wind capacity (29 GW in the EU) in 2024. But without faster permitting, better grid connections, and increased electrification, these awards won’t translate into the clean energy-producing wind farms Europe desperately needs.

Investments and corporate interest

Investments in wind energy totaled €31 billion in 2024, financing 19 GW of new capacity. While onshore wind investments remained strong at €24 billion, offshore wind funding saw a dip. Final investment decisions for offshore projects remain challenging due to slow permitting and grid delays.

Corporate consumers continue to show strong interest in wind energy. Half of all electricity contracted under Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in 2024 was wind. Dedicated wind PPAs were 4 GW out of a total of 12 GW of renewable PPAs.

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Environment

Podcast: New Tesla Model Y unveil, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, more

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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Podcast: New Tesla Model Y unveil, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, more

In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss the official unveiling of the new Tesla Model Y, Mazda 6e, Aptera solar car production-intent, and more.

The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET):

[embedded content]

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Environment

BYD’s new Han L EV just leaked in China and it’s a monster

Published

15 hours ago

January 10, 2025

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BYD's new Han L EV just leaked in China and it's a monster

The Chinese EV leader is launching a new flagship electric sedan. BYD’s new Han L EV leaked in China on Friday, revealing a potential Tesla Model S Plaid challenger.

What we know about the BYD Han L EV so far

We knew it was coming soon after BYD teased the Han L on social media a few days ago. Now, we are learning more about what to expect.

BYD’s new electric sedan appeared in China’s latest Ministry of Industry and Information Tech (MIIT) filing, a catalog of new vehicles that will soon be sold.

The filing revealed four versions, including two EV and two PHEV models. The Han L EV will be available in single- and dual-motor configurations. With a peak power of 580 kW (777 hp), the single-motor model packs more power than expected.

BYD’s dual-motor Han L gains an additional 230 kW (308 hp) front-mounted motor. As CnEVPost pointed out, the vehicle’s back has a “2.7S” badge, which suggests a 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) sprint time of just 2.7 seconds.

To put that into perspective, the Tesla Model S Plaid can accelerate from 0 to 100 km in 2.1 seconds. In China, the Model S Plaid starts at RBM 814,900, or over $110,000. Speaking of Tesla, the EV leader just unveiled its highly anticipated Model Y “Juniper” refresh in China on Thursday. It starts at RMB 263,500 ($36,000).

BYD already sells the Han EV in China, starting at around RMB 200,000. However, the single front motor, with a peak power of 180 kW, is much less potent than the “L” model. The Han EV can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds.

At 5,050 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,505 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,970 mm, BYD’s new Han L is roughly the size of the Model Y (4,970 mm long, 1,964 mm wide, 1,445 mm tall, wheelbase of 2,960 mm).

Other than that it will use a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) pack from BYD’s FinDreams unit, no other battery specs were revealed. Check back soon for the full rundown.

Source: CnEVPost, China MIIT

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