SHELL PROFIT OF £6.1BN IS ‘GROTESQUE’
OIL GIANTS BLASTED BY CAMPAIGNERS
Fury at figure after multinational cuts investment in renewables OIL giant Shell has been accused of raking in “grotesque” profits while the planet burns after posting earnings of £6.1billion for the first three months of 2024.
The better-thanexpected profits come despite millions of people continuing to struggle with energy bills, although they’ve fallen from their crisis peak.
Campaign group Global Witness said Shell’s eyewatering profits of £46,600 per minute would be enough to cover the salary of every nurse in the country.
The oil and gas firm also doled out huge sums to shareholders, with £1.8billion paid out in dividends while investors made a further £2.2billion in repurchased shares.
Shell said its profits were up six per cent on the previous quarter and insisted it was “very pleased” with how its transition to green energy is going. But activist shareholders are preparing a bid to force the company to ramp up its action on emissions and climate at its AGM this month. It follows anger last year after the massive energy multinational slashed investment in renewables and axed 200 jobs from its low-carbon division.
Alexander Kirk, fossil fuel campaigner at Global Witness, hit out: “Shell continuing to rake in huge sums of money shows us that huge polluter profits were not a one-off but are the twisted reality of an energy system that benefits climate-wrecking companies to the cost of everyone else.
“Companies like Shell saw record profits while the energy crisis dragged millions of families into poverty through unaffordable energy bills.
“Meanwhile, fossil fuel giants fought hard against paying more tax.
“This is the sad irony of the global energy system in which those causing chaos are the ones getting rich.
“This spiral won’t stop until we make the urgent switch to a fairer renewable energy system that puts both people and planet first.”
Izzie McIntosh, climate campaign manager at Global Justice Now, said: “As extreme weather accelerates and the cost-ofliving crisis rumbles on, Shell’s latest billion-pound profits are an affront to the world. The grotesque wealth that this earthwrecking company continues to accumulate is something we cannot allow ourselves to accept as normal.”
Charlie Kronick, senior climate adviser at Greenpeace UK, added: “On a day where climate leaders are negotiating in Abu Dhabi how to help the world’s poorest meet the skyrocketing costs of climate loss and damage, Shell continues to bank billions from flogging the fuels that are driving the crisis.
“With countries experiencing the worst impacts of climate change among those least responsible for it, the case for making polluters pay for the damage their industry is causing could not be clearer.”
Shell chiefs insisted they were “looking forward” to the AGM on May 21
CEO Wael Sawan said: “Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, demonstrating our continued focus on delivering more value with less emissions.”
System benefits climatewrecking firms
Alexander Kirk CAMPAIGNER