Shell Oil & Gretchen Watkins

The document argues that Shell engaged in a campaign of deception regarding climate change despite internal reports as early as 1988 warning that impacts could be the greatest in recorded history. It highlights a contradiction between Shell's public net-zero pledges and its financial investments, noting that between 2010 and 2018, only 1.3% of capital expenditures went to low-carbon projects. Furthermore, the briefing asserts that Shell's nature-based offset plans are unrealistic, requiring forest planting on a scale comparable to the size of Spain or Brazil.

• Shell possessed internal knowledge of climate change risks as early as the 1980s. A 1988 confidential report stated that climate impacts "may be the greatest in recorded history" and warned that waiting for detectable warming could make it "too late to take effective countermeasures to reduce the effects or even to stabilize the situation."
• Shell took physical precautions to protect its own assets from climate change while publicly opposing emissions-curbing policies as "premature." This included receiving a patent in 1984 for Arctic drilling equipment for warming regions and spending over $16 million in 1989 to raise an offshore oil platform to mitigate rising seas and stronger storms.
• Shell's financial investments contradict its public commitment to low-carbon energy. Between 2010 and 2018, the company invested only 1.3% of its capital expenditures in low-carbon projects. In 2020, Shell spent $1.7 billion on new fossil fuel exploration, which was 24 times the $70 million spent on carbon capture and 19 times the $90 million spent on nature-based projects.
• Shell's net-zero plans include disclaimers that distance the company from the targets. A 2016 plan noted the company had "no immediate plans to move to a net-zero emissions portfolio over our investment horizon of 10–20 years," and as of October 2021, its Powering Progress strategy stated that operating plans, budgets, and pricing assumptions "do not reflect our net-zero emissions target."
• Shell's strategy for nature-based offsets is described as unrealistic. To offset 120 million tons of CO2 per year by 2030, Shell's own estimates suggest it would need to plant forests "the size of Spain," or in its "Sky" scenario, a forest "approaching the size of Brazil."

APA

Center for Climate Integrity (2021). Shell Oil & Gretchen Watkins. https://climateintegrity.org/news/view/shell-oil-gretchen-watkins

Chicago

Center for Climate Integrity. Shell Oil & Gretchen Watkins. 2021. https://climateintegrity.org/news/view/shell-oil-gretchen-watkins.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Integrity |title=Shell Oil & Gretchen Watkins |date=6 October 2021 |url=https://climateintegrity.org/news/view/shell-oil-gretchen-watkins |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimateintegrity2021shell, author = {{Center for Climate Integrity}}, title = {{Shell Oil \& Gretchen Watkins}}, institution = {Center for Climate Integrity}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://climateintegrity.org/news/view/shell-oil-gretchen-watkins}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }