Q&A: Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This

Shareholders are rebelling against oil companies. Egged on by activist investors, pension funds are starting to reject the advice of management and their own proxy advisors to demand real reductions in Scope 3 emissions this decade. Energy Flux founding editor Seb Kennedy spoke to Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, the Amsterdam-based shareholder activism platform, about resurgent oil demand, the problem of asset divestments merely displacing emissions, and the impact of rising oil prices on the developing world.

Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This

Seb Kennedy: Your resolution at Shell’s 2021 AGM to set concrete emissions reductions targets for 2030 received 30% of the vote. Then just a few weeks later, a Dutch judge ordered Shell to cut its 2030 emissions by 45% this decade. So, is it mission accomplished for Follow This?

Mark van Baal: It is mission accomplished when emissions really go down. The oil majors have to take several steps to be Paris-aligned. They first have to talk a…