Shell has announced that it plans to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 (covering scope one, two and three emissions).

The ambition covers emissions from the manufacture of all energy products Shell sells to its customers by around 65 per cent by 2050 (increased from around 50 per cent), and by around 30 per cent by 2035 (increased from around 20 per cent), but it also includes a wider desire to ‘pivot’ to serving businesses and sectors that by 2050 are also net-zero.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic having a serious impact on people’s health and our economies, these are extraordinary times. Yet even at this time of immediate challenge, we must also maintain the focus on the long-term,” said Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell.

“This announcement significantly increases Shell’s ambitions and commitments,” said Adam Matthews, director of ethics and engagement of the Church of England Pensions Board, board member of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, and co-lead as part of the Climate Action 100+ dialogue with Shell. “It is indicative of Shell’s confidence in not only navigating the immediate situation but rightly sets the focus on developing net-zero pathways in key sectors that shape the demand for energy. Ultimately, it will be by developing and supporting net-zero pathways in these sectors that we will achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

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