Shell rejects calls for new scope three targets

Oil major pushes back on shareholder demands amid easing ESG pressures on industry

Shell has rejected calls from some shareholders to set a medium-term target for the reduction of absolute scope three emissions from the products it sells. The oil major’s current scope three targets focus on net carbon intensity rather than absolute emissions. “The board has considered setting a scope three absolute emissions target but has found it would be against the financial interests of our shareholders and would not help to mitigate global warming,” says the oil major’s chairman, Andrew Mackenzie, in a transition progress report released in mid-March. Shell says its carbon intensity targets are fully aligned with its 2050 net-zero goal. It achieved a 3.8pc reduction in scope-three ca