...AND CHEAPER...:

US oil giants ExxonMobil and Chevron have suffered shareholder rebellions from climate activists and disgruntled institutional investors over their failure to set a strategy for a low-carbon future.

Exxon failed to defend its board against a coup launched by dissident hedge fund activists at Engine No. 1 which successfully replaced two Exxon board members with its own candidates to help drive the oil company towards a greener strategy.

Meanwhile, a majority of Chevron shareholders rebelled against the company's board by voting 61 percent in favor of an activist proposal from Dutch campaign group Follow This to force the group to cut its carbon emissions.

Overnight, a Dutch court found that Shell is required to reduce its total emissions, including those from operation but also those from the use of the products it sells ("scope 3" emissions) by 45% of 2019 levels by the year 2030, to align with global climate goals.

This was found on the grounds that climate impacts would breach the human rights of residents of the Netherlands, and the Wadden region. The case was brought in April 2019 by seven climate activist groups and led by Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie, and the findings were announced on Wednesday night, Europe time.

The court's ruling found that Shell is directly culpable for the climate impacts created by the normal usage of the products it sells, namely oil and gas. It rejected the company's arguments that not selling these products would result in others selling the same, or that the responsibility lies with consumers rather than fossil fuel companies.

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