Financial campaign group Follow This has withdrawn a climate change motion scheduled to be debated at Shell’s next AGM due to the ‘long term climate targets Shell has drawn up’.

The campaign group said after talks with six institutional investors, it would give Shell ‘breathing space’ and that the company had now become an ‘industry leader’ on emissions targets.

Last month Shell adopted its first in short-term carbon emissions target and earlier it agreed to link progress on climate targets to executive pay.

‘We have therefore decided to give Shell time to bring that climate ambition into line with the Paris climate agreement,’ Follow This founder Mark van Baal said in a statement.

The campaign group also targets  BP,  ExxonMobil, Equinor and Chevron with shareholder resolutions.

Court action

Meanwhile, Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie has filed court papers to try to stop the Anglo Dutch oil giant drilling for gas and oil, and to ensure it meets climate change targets.

Some 17,000 people and six organisations have signed up to Milieudefensie’s call for co-defendants in the case, which the green group hopes will lead to a judge ‘forcing Shell to stop being a major cause of climate change.’

Last week Shell said it is leaving a major US oil lobby group because it disagrees with the group’s policies on climate change.

After reviewing its 19 industry memberships, Shell said it would not renew its membership of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers lobby next year because of ‘material misalignment’.