This morning, Royal Dutch Shell announced its plan to go “net-zero” by 2050. Please see the statement below from Deputy Campaigns Director, Sriram Madhusoodanan:
“Shell’s so-called climate commitments only prove that the fossil fuel industry is not focused on cutting actual emissions but instead focused just on making people think they are. Not only is the plan under criticism because the math doesn’t add up but the very premise of its plan–that somehow we can continue to burn fossil fuels and keep temperature rise under 1.5– is completely delusional.
It’s a fantasy meant to protect Shell’s profits, not protect the planet.
This plan is just more double talk from one of the world’s biggest polluters: At the same time Shell is pushing this plan, it is pushing its shareholders to reject a resolution for it to align its operations with the goals of the Paris Agreement and lobbying for liability waivers to protect itself from the damages incurred to others as a result of its business.
Net-zero is a dangerous distraction that has not only failed to actually reduce emissions, it threatens to lock in the fossil fuel economy while furthering climate injustices. Now more than ever, governments must commit to a path forward to real zero. To do so, they must hold Big Polluters like Shell liable for their abuses and ensure they are no longer able undermine global climate policymaking.“
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