As Shell reports Q4 profits of £2.9 billion ($3.6 billion), a new Global Witness analysis reveals the firm paid out a staggering £18.2 billion ($22.6 billion) to shareholders in 2024, and reduced its spending on ‘renewables and energy solutions’ by 5% compared to the previous year.
The analysis shows its total spending on oil and gas in 2024 eclipsed its spending on renewables by more than 7 times, with capital expenditure on its oil and gas businesses topping £14 billion. Shell said it spent just over £2 billion on ‘renewables and energy solutions’ over the same period.
The analysis suggests further disregard for climate targets the company pledged four years ago, but weakened last year.
Shell’s continued commitment to fossil fuels – the primary driver of climate change – comes after confirmation that 2024 was the warmest year on record, and a new study warning that Europe could see 2.3 million excess heat deaths if action is not taken to reduce carbon emissions.
Alice Harrison, Head of Fossil Fuel Campaigns at Global Witness, said:
“We all want our homes and our families to be safe, but the past year has served as a reminder of how exposed we all are to fossil-fuel driven climate extremes. From wildfires in LA to flooding in Valencia and southern Brazil, more people around the world are paying with their lives or their homes because of Big Oil’s continued burning of fossil fuels.
You would think this devastation would serve as a wake-up call to corporate giants like Shell, to start prioritising the energy transition we need to safeguard life on earth. Instead, they’re continuing to rake in billions from planet-wrecking oil and gas.
As we approach 10 years since the landmark 2015 Paris agreement, it’s high time governments held oil giants like Shell to account. Rather than propping up the climate-wrecking fossil fuel industry, we need governments to make polluters pay for the damage they have already caused, and steer us towards a cleaner, greener future.”
Even Shell’s reported spending on ‘renewables and energy solutions’ has proved problematic, as it has lumped together real renewable energy projects – like solar and wind power – with those that are not renewable and will not help fight the climate breakdown, like carbon capture.
