Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell has been accused of pursuing strategies that could lead to ‘potentially catastrophic climate change’ after a company document acknowledged a global temperature rise of 4 Celsius, twice the level considered safe for the planet, the Guardian reports.

The newspaper says the document is used for guiding future business planning at Shell and assumes carbon dioxide emissions will fail to limit temperature increases to 2 Celsius. This is the internationally agreed threshold to prevent widespread flooding, famine and desertification.

Instead, scenarios refer to a forecast by the independent International Energy Agency that points to a temperature rise of up to 4C in the short term, rising later to 6C, the Guardian says.

Environmental campaigners say the revelation undermines Shell’s ability ‘to talk with authority on climate change’, the paper says.

Shell shareholders are due to meet in the Netherlands on Tuesday

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