ASSESSMENT OF SHELL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY

Reclaim Finance finds that Shell's investment strategy prioritizes oil and gas expansion and shareholder returns over renewable energy, leading to production levels and LNG capacities that significantly exceed NZE requirements by 2030. The report notes that Shell has reduced its carbon intensity targets and relies heavily on unproven carbon capture and offsets, while its renewable energy growth remains marginal compared to its fossil fuel output.

• Shell's 2023 financial allocations heavily favored fossil fuels and shareholders over sustainable energy. For every dollar invested in its "Renewables and Energy Solutions" (R&ES) business, Shell invested 8.0 dollars in oil and gas and distributed 8.9 dollars to shareholders via dividends and buybacks.
• Shell's oil and gas production targets for 2030 are inconsistent with the NZE scenario. Based on committed expansion, production will be 20% higher than NZE levels; however, because Shell now aims to maintain oil production and increase gas production, its 2030 production is projected to be 27% above NZE alignment.
• Shell is expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure beyond what is required by the NZE and Announced Pledges Scenario (APS). By 2030, Shell's total net liquefaction capacity is expected to increase by 19.6 Mtpa, exceeding NZE capacities by 46.6% and APS by 24.3%.
• The company's diversification into renewables is marginal. By 2030, Shell is projected to produce 54 times more energy from oil and gas than from renewables, accounting for less than 0.1% of worldwide renewable power production in the NZE.
• Shell has lowered its 2030 decarbonization target for net carbon intensity of products from a previous goal of -20% to a new range of -15%/-20% compared to 2016 levels. Reclaim Finance calculates that this targeted carbon intensity will be 32.8% higher than the NZE.
• Shell's emissions reduction strategy relies heavily on offsets and Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), with offsets alone planned to provide 39% of its absolute emissions reduction by 2030.

APA

Delaporte, L.-M., Her, H., Gebel, B., Pinson, L., Faul, C., Hermant, R., Lentilhac, M., & Masson, A. (2024). ASSESSMENT OF SHELL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-shell.pdf

Chicago

Delaporte, Louis-Maxence, Henri Her, Bastien Gebel, Lucie Pinson, Clément Faul, Rémi Hermant, Maude Lentilhac, and Agathe Masson. ASSESSMENT OF SHELL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-shell.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Delaporte |first1=Louis-Maxence |last2=Her |first2=Henri |last3=Gebel |first3=Bastien |last4=Pinson |first4=Lucie |last5=Faul |first5=Clément |last6=Hermant |first6=Rémi |last7=Lentilhac |first7=Maude |last8=Masson |first8=Agathe |title=ASSESSMENT OF SHELL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=April 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-shell.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{delaporte2024assessment, author = {Delaporte, Louis-Maxence and Her, Henri and Gebel, Bastien and Pinson, Lucie and Faul, Clément and Hermant, Rémi and Lentilhac, Maude and Masson, Agathe}, title = {{ASSESSMENT OF SHELL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-shell.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }