People’s AGM Platform fumes over Norway profiting from its investments in Shell.
By: Femi Mustapha.
The People’s AGM Platform Nigeria has kicked against Norway Fund continually ‘profiting’ from its investments in Shell, while Shell is ‘profiting’ from its continuing negligence regarding the environment and people of the Niger Delta.
This was contained in an open letter to People’s AGM Platform, Nigeria, to Norwegian Oil Fund and made available to the media on 16th May 2023.
The letter, addressed to Mr. Tangen, stated that the People’s AGM Platform and other Nigerian groups, joined by allies from across Africa and around the world, wrote a letter to the chair of the Norwegian Council on Ethics.
The letter further stated that it welcomed the Council’s plan to investigate oil pollution in the Niger Delta and the impact this may have on the environment and human health.
“We noted that it would be unethical for the Norway Fund to continue ‘profiting’ from its investments in Shell, while Shell is ‘profiting’ from its continuing negligence regarding the environment and people of the Niger Delta.
“We encouraged the Council on Ethics to recommend full divestment and exclusion of all holdings of the Norway Government Pension Fund in Royal Dutch Shell, Plc. and its subsidiaries, due to the consistent and severe environmental and social harm caused by Shell’s negligent oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta, Nigeria.”
It would be recalled that Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, in May 2022, convened the first “People’s AGM” to echo the people’s position on the impact of the operations of Shell and other multinational oil and gas companies.
The intention was to reach out to shareholders and investors to take decisive action and vote against policies and decisions that are not Paris-aligned.
ANEEJ had engaged the Archbishop of Canterbury via a letter signed by 40 Nigerian CSOs, asking the Church of England Pensions Board (and by extension other investors) to desist from lending its moral and financial authority to Shell and voting for Shell’s climate and energy plan
