ANEEJ lauds Church of England decision to vote against Shell’s Chair, Directors
By: Femi Mustapha
The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, has encouraged the decision of the Church of England to vote against Shell’s Chair and Directors and the transition plan update during the company’s 2023 AGM.
The Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, made the position known following an article written by Adam Matthews, the Chief Responsible Investment Officer of the Church of England Pensions Board and published in The Telegraph on May 9, 2023, conveying the Church’s position to the public.
Rev. Ugolor added that ANEEJ also wants the church to take a step further by divesting from Shell and other companies that are not Paris aligned.
The Church also re-echoed its earlier announcement that it now needs to rethink its approach and focus on the demand side and not just the supply side because it has lost confidence in the direction of the company.
“We expect other big investors like the Norwegian Pension Fund to follow the same path and announce even tougher measures against Shell, TotalEnergies, Exxon Mobile, and other big oil and gas companies during their respective AGMs holding this month.
“The short-term profits cannot come before the long-term health of our planet as we completely agree with the opinion of the church that investors should explore with governments how phasing out usage of fossil fuel as quickly as possible can be achieved in line with the Paris Agreement and informed by the International Energy Agency,” Ugolor concluded.
