“I’m out:” Shell solar employee praised for quitting after oil giant’s climate backflip

The decision of global fossil fuel giant, Shell, to abandon its targeted annual reduction in oil production, in pursuit of fossil fuel profits and at the cost of urgent climate action, got a special shout out on business networking site LinkedIn this week, from a now ex-employee.

Shell this week advised shareholders it would keep oil production stable until 2030, rather than cut output by between 1-2% a year, and invest $40 billion in oil and gas production between 2023 and 2035, compared with between $10-$15 billion on “low-carbon” product.

“Steffen K” from Next Kraftwerk, an employee of the German solar and battery virtual power plant company acquired by Shell in 2021 as part of a suite of “new energy” investments by the oil major, announced on LinkedIn that the news had prompted him to quit.

In a post on Thursday, Steffen K said the move by Shell amounted to a “pivotal shift in corporate values,” putting short-term profits above the company’s social and environmental responsibilities.

“I don’t want to be part of that, so I’m out,” the post says. “It’s heart-breaking as I love working at Next with all the great colleagues and I’m super proud of what we’ve built together. But yeah – can’t do it.”

Of course, Steffen is not alone. The Church of England Pensions Board announced last week it would offload its £1.35 million stake in Shell as part of a total exit from oil and gas and from companies without “sufficient ambition to decarbonise” in line with Paris targets.

“There is a significant misalignment between the long term interests of our pension fund and continued investment in companies seeking short term profit maximization at the expense of the ambition needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement,” said CofE Pensions Board CEO John Ball

“Recent reversals of previous commitments, most notably by BP and Shell, has undermined confidence in the sector’s ability to transition.”

Shell’s change of strategy was also slammed by the Climate Group, which described it as effectively moving the oil giant “into pariah status.”

“This is not just a run-of-the-mill business decision but Shell recklessly abandoning its responsibilities for the climate crisis,” said Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson.

“We can only attempt to keep the world on track to remaining liveable if we radically reshape our economies and the use of fossil fuels within them. And that needs to start with the fossil fuel companies.

“As a company that has both profited from the sale of fossil fuels and has been ordered to cut emissions by the courts in the Netherlands, it’s now time for Shell to step up and lead, not just prioritise profits.”

Shell has also recently announced plans to offload its home retail energy businesses in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands following a strategic review of its European retail businesses launched shortly after Sawan was appointed CEO.

“That review has now concluded and as a consequence, we intend to exit those businesses. A sales process is already underway, with the intent to reach an agreement with a potential buyer in the coming months,” Shell said in a statement.

In Australia, Shell several years ago bought the commercial and industrial focused energy retailer ERM a few years ago, and more recently the retail-focused Powershop, which sparked a backlash from some customers.

Last October, Shell Energy Australia announced its part in a joint venture to develop, own and operate a 500MW and 1,000MWh big battery in the NSW Central West Orana REZ.

It also unveiled $31.6 million plans to harness an estimated 21.5MW of demand-side capacity by managing the loads of at least 40 commercial and industrial sites across Australia. That project has won backing from ARENA.

At around the same time Shell Energy Operations bought up a 370MW hybrid wind, solar and battery storage project approved for Perth in Western Australia, in a joint venture with Foresight.

In March, Shell agreed to buy a 49 per cent share of Australian wind farm developer WestWind Energy Development, which has a 3GW project pipeline across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

The stake in WestWind followed up on its investment in solar farm developer Esco Pacific, and its direct investment in the 100MW Gangarri solar project in Queensland.