A shareholder resolution will call on Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-B) to answer questions about their involvement in Canada’s tar sands at the company’s 2010 shareholder meeting on May 18.
FairPensions, working with a coalition of investors and NGOs succeeded in co-ordinating the resolution. Signatories to the resolution include groups and individuals concerned about environmental and human rights problems and investors who question the financial wisdom of tar sands projects.
Tar sands make up the world’s second largest oil reserves, but the damage they cause to the climate is even worse than that of conventional oil: the greenhouse gas emissions of converting tar sands into fuel is 3 times higher. Roughly three barrels of natural gas are consumed to create one barrel of oil.
In addition, the stripmining practiced to remove the tar sands results in the destruction of vast areas of land and the creation of toxic surface ponds that reportedly can be seen from outer space.
Financial concerns include questions about whether future oil prices will be high enough to outweigh the high costs of producing tar sands, installing carbon capture and storage and expected carbon-emissions costs. Investors working with FairPensions think that Shell’s financial assumptions may be too optimistic.
The resolution has support from a large coalition of investors, including pension funds, fund managers, foundations, faith groups and individuals.
According to a report in the Guardian, Shell said oil and gas produced from tar sands accounts for only 2.5% of the company’s total output. The company reportedly thought the statistic would downplay the significance of tar sands. However, it seems to do the opposite, suggesting that such environmental devastation is far from justified for such a small amount of fossil fuel.
Read the Guardian story at the link below.
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