Climate change: Group faults Total Energy, others over investments that fuels crisis

From: Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

The peoples AGM platform has criticized Total Energies, Eni, and Equinor for their role in prioritizing oil and gas investments that is fueling the climate crisis despite the urgent need to transit to clean, renewable energy.
The convener of the peoples AGM, David Ugolor stated this in a press statement made available to the Media in Kaduna yesterday.
Rev. Ugolor who is also the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), called on investors and shareholders at Total Energies scheduled AGM, to reverse the trend.
The group also urged the investors to vote in support of the request from a group of shareholders to allow the Company to set targets “aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement” for Scope 3 indirect emissions related to the use of energy products sold to its customers.
The group canvassed support for the French civil society organisation’s action planned for tomorrow at Total Energies head office in France.
Similarly , the Co-Chair of the peoples AGM and Executive Director, Indigenous Centre for Energy and Sustainable Development, ICE-SD, Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, explained that “new briefing revealed that Total Energies approved more number of new oil and gas expansion in 2022 among international oil & gas majors.
By its own reporting, Total Energies as a company generated more worldwide carbon pollution than its home country of France”.
Taiwo Otitolaye, the Co-Chair of the peoples AGM and National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay Campaign, Nigeria, lamented that “neither Total Energies, Eni, nor Equinor comes anywhere close to the bare minimum for alignment with the Paris Agreement, as revealed Oil Change International benchmark, which requires rapid, deep cuts in oil and gas production and sales that need to happen within this decade.
No oil and gas company can credibly claim to be aligned with the 1.5°C limits without taking immediate action to phase out fossil fuels”.