Greenpeace reaction to Shell CEO's statement

Commenting on statements made by Shell's CEO Ben Van Beurden in a Reuters interview claiming that Shell has 'no choice' but to invest in more fossil fuels, Greenpeace UK senior climate campaigner Mel Evans said: 

"For all the strenuous efforts by Big Oil to keep up appearances, every now and then the mask slips and we catch a glimpse of their true intentions. Ben van Beurden has made it very clear that Shell is not going to back off from fossil fuels. In fact, data shows it's planning to spend $149 billion on oil and gas production over the next decade. 

"Shell's boss says they have no choice but to invest in more oil. That leaves us no choice but to stop them if we want to avoid a climate catastrophe. This is why political and financial institutions can't just sit and wait for Big Oil to clean up its act. Ministers should ban new oil and gas exploration now, and big banks and major shareholders should pull the plug on oil giants who refuse to radically shift their business model to clean energy.”