Oil and gas group Total won more than 90 per cent backing for its climate plan to gradually reduce its emissions on Friday, when shareholders also voted overwhelmingly in favour of its rebrand as TotalEnergies to mark its shift to renewable energy.
Some shareholders had campaigned to reject Total's green goals as not ambitious enough, echoing growing investor rebellions in the sector.
Demands for oil companies to speed up the shift from fossil fuel reached a crescendo this week as a Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell to greatly increase greenhouse emission cuts and Exxon Mobil battled with an activist investor over its record on climate change.
Total's climate strategy, which lays out its aim to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, was backed by 91.88 per cent of shareholders voting at its annual meeting.
"This outcome is, I think, the best response to commentators who predicted, and in some cases even hoped for an investor rebellion against the company, and responds to those who act more as activists than shareholders," chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said.
The rebranding, which takes effect immediately, was backed by 99.88 per cent of votes.
Total is investing in a pivot towards renewable energy with solar or wind power projects.
It is seeking to derive revenues from electricity production and reduce its reliance on oil products, including with staggered targets to 2030, and mirroring moves by rivals to try to cut emissions.
Mr Pouyanne said he wanted the company to become a "green energy major", but said a more radical shift would not be appropriate as the company needs to fund its transition from revenues derived from fossil fuels.
The International Energy Agency has said new fossil fuel projects must stop this year if the world wants to reach net zero carbon emissions by the middle of the century, a faster pace than envisaged so far by oil producers, including Total.
"Without new oil projects, global oil production is set to naturally drop by about 4 per cent to 5 per cent every year," Mr Pouyanne told the shareholder meeting, while oil demand was projected to only start tailing off from 2030. "Without new oil projects, it's highly likely that oil prices would reach new highs," he said.
Non-governmental organisations and some investors spoke out against what they saw as an overly conservative approach.
Bruce Duguid, head of stewardship at the governance advisory arm of asset manager Federated Hermes, which holds shares in Total, said he had not supported the transition plan.
"The challenge is there's just not sufficient evidence it's aligned with the Paris goals," he said, referring to the UN accord on curbing climate change.
Lucie Pinson, founder and executive director at Reclaim Finance, a non-governmental organisation, accused Total of greenwash and said its shareholders had "voted willingly for climate chaos".
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Read more about the coronavirus
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Company Profile
Founder: Omar Onsi
Launched: 2018
Employees: 35
Financing stage: Seed round ($12 million)
Investors: B&Y, Phoenician Funds, M1 Group, Shorooq Partners
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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RESULTS
2.15pm: Al Marwan Group Holding – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m
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Winner: MH Rahal, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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The view from The National
