The majority of shareholders of Woodside Energy Group Ltd. have voted against the Australian liquefied natural gas producer’s climate strategy but decided to retain chair Richard Goyder on the board.
Days before the annual meeting of investors this week, Woodside investor HESTA called out Woodside’s emission reduction plans, saying these fall short of the Paris Agreement on global warming and calling for the installment of new directors with the appropriate climate expertise.
On February 27, Perth-based Woodside released its Climate Transition Action Plan (CTAP), setting for the first time a goal for Scope 3, or emissions from the use of its products. Its emissions neutrality policy previously only accounted for Scope 1 and 2, broadly defined as emissions from operations and input energy respectively.
“Woodside has set a complementary Scope 3 emissions abatement target, to indicate the potential abatement impact of these products and services upon customer Scope 1 or 2 emissions”, Woodside said at the time. “This target is to take final investment decisions on new energy products and lower carbon services by 2030, with total abatement capacity of 5 Mtpa CO2e [million tons per annum of carbon dioxide equivalent]”.
Woodside said then it has spent over $335 million toward its $5 billion investment target in “new energy products and lower carbon services” by 2030. Woodside categorizes this investment as part of emission reduction efforts.
In a report February 12, the Australian Conservation Foundation said the $5 billion investment still involves fossil fuels. The foundation also called on Woodside to set a Scope 3 climate roadmap.
This week stockholders who cast their vote rejected the CTAP, 58.36 percent versus 41.64 percent, according to results published by Woodside.
In a letter to shareholders ahead of the meeting, Goyder said, “We are concerned that some stakeholders’ and investors’ requests to drastically change Woodside’s strategy and investment priorities risk eroding value for all shareholders and contributing to a disorderly energy transition”.
“The energy transition will take time and significant investment, and I am confident that Woodside’s disciplined approach is the right path for our shareholders”, stated the letter, shared on Woodside’s website.
“Regardless of the outcome of the advisory vote on our CTAP, Woodside will continue to seek investor feedback and continually evolve our climate change strategy with the goal of enabling Woodside to thrive through the energy transition”.
Goyder, as well as chief executive Meg O’Neill, spoke before the voting insisting on maintaining Woodside’s net zero policy of accounting only for scope 1 and 2 equity emissions.
In the HESTA statement ahead of the meeting, HESTA chief executive Debby Blakey said “there remains a significant gap between the current plan and a 1.5C transition pathway”.
While calling for the addition of “appropriately skilled directors to catalyze the technological and cultural change required to prepare the business for the energy transition”, HESTA said it was supporting Goyder.
“This decision reflects the constructive nature of ongoing engagement and our belief that there continues to be positive progress towards adding additional Board skills”, it said of its decision to vote for Goyder.
Goyder was re-elected at the meeting, 83.4 percent against 16.6 percent.
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