Shell, the Royal Dutch oil giant revealed that it will withdraw from the U.S. lobbying organization known as the American Fuel and Petroleum Manufacturers (AFPM). The company cited the difference of views in the climate change policies as the reason for their decision to quit.
According to CNN, Shell is not renewing its membership in the AFPM after review and discovering there is "material misalignment on climate-related policy positions with this association." Moreover, another disagreement mentioned by the energy company was AFPM's lack of "stated support for the goal of the Paris Agreement" that Shell has been supporting.
The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, Ben Van Beurden, wrote in the review report that it is crucial to confirm that "the industry associations we belong to do not undermine our support for the Paris Agreement."
"The need for urgent action in response to climate change has become ever more obvious since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015," Buerden said. "As a result, society's expectations in this area have changed, and Shell's views have also evolved."
The Shell CEO added, "We must be prepared to openly voice our concerns where we find misalignment with an industry association on climate-related policy. In cases of material misalignment, we should also be prepared to walk away."
In any case, almost all the countries signed the 2015 Paris Agreement and this means they made a promise to restrict the rise in temperatures to below two degrees Celsius. With this policy, the U.S. pulled out from the agreement in 2017.
Shell's review included checking the climate policies of 19 leading industry groups in which it belongs to and the company did not find any issues with the nine members but another nine showed "some misalignment" issues and this was why it only left the AFPM group. Shell wants to promote transparency and show its investors that it is complying with the 2015 Paris climate agreement's goals of addressing global warming.
In recent months, Shell and the AFPM have been at odds due to the policy on the use of renewable fuels. The Royal Dutch energy company and some other major refiners invested in cleaner fuel technology but the AFPM does not want standards that require refiners to fund the blending of biofuels into the gasoline pool.
Meanwhile, with Shell's announcement of its exit from the group, AFPM Chief Executive Chet Thompson expressed gratitude for the longstanding collaboration.
"We will also continue working on behalf of the refining and petrochemical industries to advance policies that ensure reliable and affordable access to fuels and petrochemicals while being responsible stewards of the environment," the AFPM chief said in a statement. "We wish Shell all the best in the future."
