British energy company BP is facing shareholder backlash for scaling back its climate objectives and investing more in crude oil and natural gas.
File photo by Alexis C. Glenn/UPI | License Photo
April 27 (UPI) -- British energy company BP is facing backlash from shareholders who are upset about its about-face on climate targets from earlier this year, multiple reports on Thursday showed.
Representatives from five pension funds -- Border to Coast, Brunel Pension Partnership, LGPS Central, Nest and Universal Pension Scheme -- told the BBC they were concerned that scaled-back climate objectives expose the energy company to financial risk.
"Not only were we disappointed to see the company going back on the targets, but we were also really surprised not to have had any consultation," Katharina Lindmeier at Nest told the BBC.
BP pivoted on its carbon emissions strategy, announcing plans in February to invest $8 billion in new oil and gas production over the next seven years -- the same as it will spend on bioenergy, EV charging, hydrogen and renewable power.
The move was part of a plan to boost the group's before-tax earnings to as much as $56 billion in 2030 and comes as BP posted a $27.7 billion net profit for 2022, more than double its 2021 profit.
Apart from spending, the company reset its target for lowering emissions by the end of the decade from 35%-40% for the end of the decade, set three years ago, to 20%-30% earlier this year.
Separate reporting from CNBC finds shareholders may express their frustration at BP's annual meeting Thursday by voting against the reappointment of BP Chairman Helge Lund. Follow This, a Dutch activist investor holding shares in BP, put forward a resolution, meanwhile, calling on the British energy giant to align its strategy with the Paris climate accord.
April 27 (UPI) -- British energy company BP is facing backlash from shareholders who are upset about its about-face on climate targets from earlier this year, multiple reports on Thursday showed.
Representatives from five pension funds -- Border to Coast, Brunel Pension Partnership, LGPS Central, Nest and Universal Pension Scheme -- told the BBC they were concerned that scaled-back climate objectives expose the energy company to financial risk.
"Not only were we disappointed to see the company going back on the targets, but we were also really surprised not to have had any consultation," Katharina Lindmeier at Nest told the BBC.
BP pivoted on its carbon emissions strategy, announcing plans in February to invest $8 billion in new oil and gas production over the next seven years -- the same as it will spend on bioenergy, EV charging, hydrogen and renewable power.
The move was part of a plan to boost the group's before-tax earnings to as much as $56 billion in 2030 and comes as BP posted a $27.7 billion net profit for 2022, more than double its 2021 profit.
Apart from spending, the company reset its target for lowering emissions by the end of the decade from 35%-40% for the end of the decade, set three years ago, to 20%-30% earlier this year.
Separate reporting from CNBC finds shareholders may express their frustration at BP's annual meeting Thursday by voting against the reappointment of BP Chairman Helge Lund. Follow This, a Dutch activist investor holding shares in BP, put forward a resolution, meanwhile, calling on the British energy giant to align its strategy with the Paris climate accord.
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"We trust that investors who hoped that voting was not necessary in 2022, now realize that voting is crucial to compel BP to align with Paris," Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, was quoted as saying ahead of BP's annual general meeting.
BP and many other energy companies, however, are embracing the technology needed to move away from fossil fuels. European lawmakers have said "the age of hydrogen," an emerging source of clean energy, is upon us and BP has plans to invest some $2 billion to establish a hydrogen hub in Spain.
CEO Bernard Looney said his company is working to "provide the energy the world needs today."
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