Annual Meetings of Shareholders ExxonMobil And her Chevron, which are scheduled for these days, “kickbacks” are not expected, as they will take place online. Conversely, across the Atlantic, its annual general meeting shell the last week was accompanied by deviations.

In particular, dozens of activists gathered on the premises to protest the excessive profits the company has accumulated at the expense of the environment and demanded that Shell be “shut down”. Shell chairman Andrew McKenzie was unable to start the meeting for more than an hour as dozens of people rose from their seats shouting and chanting “Shut down Shell” and “Shut up Shell” as shown in the Twitter video.

Despite their spectacular intervention, activists are forced to rethink their approach two years after the tiny hedge fund Engine No 1 managed to gain influence over Exxon’s management. At the time, the Engine No 1 fund had successfully secured support from institutional investors and consulting firms who were unhappy with the Irving subsidiary’s poor financial performance. BlackRock, Exxon’s second-largest shareholder, joined the dissidents in backing three Engine No. 1 candidates, ending up with two seats on the oil giant’s board.

A lot has changed since then. Activists like Parovoz No. 1 lost most of the battles they fought against the oil councils. “In June, we will review our strategy and consider what we should be doing over the next few years,” Mark van Baal, founder of the shareholder activist group Follow This, told DealBook. Like last year, this year’s attempt to push through a resolution with more binding climate targets at the Total Energies general assembly was defeated.

And this despite the fact that large investors supported the efforts of shareholders: the Norwegian fund, which owns shares in Chevron and Exxon in the amount of 0.86% and 1.13%, respectively, said that it would support, as in previous years, the resolution “Follow This”. activists who are calling for faster reductions in emissions from US companies.

The question that remains for activists is how to convince investors to prioritize long-term climate risks over rapid oil revenue growth. So far, their many demands to decarbonize the industry have been approved by only 20% of shareholders. Against the background of the above, Van Baal claims that he is not going to abandon the oil companies, so, on the one hand, he maintains at least a small presence, and on the other hand, he appeals to justice.