According to a report from the Guardian, a longtime safety-consultant for the Royal Dutch Shell abruptly quit and then launched an attack on the company while urging others tied to the oil and gas field to "walk away while there’s still time."
As part of her accusations against the energy behemoth, Caroline Dennett alleges the company has a "disregard for climate change risks” among other charges made in a letter to the company's executives.
The report notes that Dennett, who works for independent agency Clout, also posted a video where she makes her case against Shell, adding, "I can no longer work for a company that ignores all the alarms and dismisses the risks of climate change and ecological collapse. Because, contrary to Shell’s public expressions around net zero, they are not winding down on oil and gas, but planning to explore and extract much more.”
According to the Guardian's Alex Lawson, "Shell was a 'major client' of Dennett’s business, which specializes in evaluating safety procedures in high-risk industries including oil and gas production. She began working with Shell in the aftermath of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, which rocked the industry," adding, "She urged Shell’s executives to 'look in the mirror and ask themselves if they really believe their vision for more oil and gas extraction secures a safe future for humanity'."
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Her highly public breakup with Shell comes at an awkward time, with Lawson reporting, "Her announcement comes on the eve of Shell’s AGM in London on Tuesday. Its plans to reduce emissions will be discussed at the meeting where the Dutch activist group Follow This will push for the company’s policies to be more consistent with the Paris climate accord. Shell’s board has told investors to reject the group’s resolution that asks it to set more stringent climate goals."
Asked for comment about her accusation, a Shell spokesperson replied, "Be in no doubt, we are determined to deliver on our global strategy to be a net zero company by 2050 and thousands of our people are working hard to achieve this. We’re already investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy, although the world will still need oil and gas for decades to come in sectors that can’t be easily decarbonized.”
You can watch Dennett's video below via YouTube:
Safety Consultant Quits Shell Over Climate & Ecological Harms youtu.be
