Equinor ASA | End activity in Barent sea & adjust investment in renewable at Equinor ASA

Status
0.35% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
12
Resolution details
Company ticker
EQNR (previously Statoil)
Lead filer
Resolution ask
Other ask
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Net Zero / Paris aligned
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Energy
Company HQ country
Norway
Resolved clause
Shareholder Gro Nylander has proposed the following resolution:
“1. Equinor’s current activity in the Barents Sea ends. Further plans for this area are shelved.
2. Equinor’s gross investments in renewables/low-carbon solutions are 50 percent (up from 30) by 2025.
3. Equinor implements carbon capture and storage (CCS) for Melkøya. The figures for the company’s
price calculation are published and compared with alternative calculation methods.
4. Equinor invests part of the huge increase in revenues brought about by the war in Ukraine to help
rebuild the country
Supporting statement
The shareholder’s supporting statement: Equinor has long known that the use of fossil energy leads to harmful climate change. Recovering more oil/ gas is incompatible with the 1.5°C target. Cf. the UN’s Red alert. O & G activity, for example in the Barents Sea, is also vulnerable and unprofitable. Many shareholders are concerned that the company will face enormous claims for damages in the future. A number of pending lawsuits have been filed against both states and oil companies. Due to the current indisputable climate change, plaintiffs are increasingly gaining ground. Cf. tobacco companies in the U.S. that were ordered to pay billions in damages because they continued after they had knowledge of definite health damage. Too little, too late Equinor seeks to appear as a green company, as is clear from its advertising campaigns. The company should be commended for what it actually does, including the engagement in wind power. The goal of zero emissions by 2050 and 30 percent gross investment in renewables/low-carbon solutions by 2025 sounds good. But Equinor’s investment in renewable energy is still pitiful. Reportedly, over 99 percent of the company’s investments in energy were still in fossil energy in 2022. Shareholders want transparency about CCS price at Melkøya The company aims to electrify Melkøya with power from shore. A good thought – which unfortunately will be disastrous for Finnmark’s energy supply. Carbon capture is getting well developed. Equinor’s investment in CCS in Northern Lights is one example. The company considers CCS to be too expensive for Melkøya. With earnings of around three billion daily, the company can afford it. In any case, Equinor’s price calculations are far higher than other similar calculations. The shareholders want a reassessment. Equinor is profiting greatly from the war in Ukraine, for understandable reasons. The company should therefore, in addition to what the Norwegian state does, establish some form of reconstruction fund. The verdict of history on Equinor may be harsh. The management will – the way they now proceed – presumably be characterized as ”climate criminals”, because the company steadily continues to produce fossil-based energy, even though all the arrows pointed towards a catastrophic development of living conditions on the planet.

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