ExxonMobil investor Engine No.1 says that oil firms should have switched to more transition-focused businesses before the 2008 financial crisis
Oil companies missed transition pivot
Shell and activist investor both agree that mistakes were made in the ’00s
“We gave up wind 15 years ago, which was a strategic mistake,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden admitted in an October Ted event otherwise overshadowed by the executive being on the end of a withering personal attack by a climate campaigner. And Chris James, founder of investor Engine No.1, agrees that oil firms such as Shell should have switched to more transition-focused businesses before the 2008 financial crisis. “There was an opportunity, about 15 years ago, for the oil and gas industry to lean very heavily into renewables and to really start the energy transition,” says James. “That is when they had a cost-of-capital advantage, that is when they had great balance sheets. But it did not happen
Also in this section
1 April 2026
Golden Pass’s startup offers QatarEnergy a timely boost but may also force a difficult choice between honouring disrupted contracts and capitalising on soaring spot LNG prices
1 April 2026
It is not a case of if or when, but the length and magnitude of economic damage from elevated oil prices
1 April 2026
The US-Iran conflict demonstrates the need for diversification in several senses of the word. It also exposes the limits of Washington applying pressure on major oil and gas producers it considers geopolitical adversaries
31 March 2026
Disappointing results in its bidding round are a reality check for Libya, and global exploration generally
