shell oil

Shell's new venture raises eyebrows with its climate tech façade

Shell has unveiled Onward, a startup it claims will propel the energy sector toward a greener future. However, critics argue it's a clever disguise for continuing oil and gas operations.

Molly Taft reports for The Guardian in partnership with Drilled.


In short:

  • Onward, backed by Shell, promises to connect innovators for tackling energy and climate challenges, yet focuses significantly on oil and gas projects.
  • Despite Shell's investment in low-carbon solutions, Onward's job board predominantly lists roles enhancing fossil fuel production.
  • Experts criticize these efforts as greenwashing, highlighting the contradiction between Shell's public climate commitments and its business practices.

Key quote:

"It’s a Trojan horse of legitimacy. You’re under cover of the idea that the climate movement is an all-hands-on-deck situation, but what you’re really doing is bringing in players who have very different ideas of what it means to ‘solve’ the climate crisis."

— Melissa Aronczyk, professor of journalism and media at Rutgers University.

Why this matters:

While Shell's Onward initiative presents a forward-thinking image, the focus on oil and gas raises concerns about the sincerity of such climate tech ventures, especially when global climate authorities call for a halt in fossil fuel exploration to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

Community advocates tasked with spending $5 million in fines from Shell’s industrial air pollution are determined not to let the oil company take credit for the projects.

Activists hold up banners at COP29 about finance negotiations.
Credit: Comunidad #PorElClima/Flickr

COP29 finance negotiations hinge on last-minute deal-making

With only hours left at COP29 in Baku, negotiators scramble to finalize a climate finance deal amid accusations of poor leadership and insufficient ambition.

Euronews reports.

Keep reading...Show less
Senator Whitehouse & climate change

Senator Whitehouse puts climate change on budget committee’s agenda

For more than a decade, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse gave daily warnings about the mounting threat of climate change. Now he has a powerful new perch.
Phillips 66 wastewater felony
Credit: Thomas Hawk/Flickr

Phillips 66 faces felony charges for dumping oil-tainted wastewater in Los Angeles

Federal prosecutors have charged oil giant Phillips 66 with violating the Clean Water Act by discharging nearly 800,000 gallons of contaminated wastewater into Los Angeles County sewers, threatening critical treatment infrastructure.

Evan Halper reports for The Washington Post.

Keep reading...Show less
Coalition announces bold climate targets, leaves U.S. behind

Coalition announces bold climate targets, leaves U.S. behind

The European Union and 11 nations, excluding the U.S., pledged to establish stringent greenhouse gas reduction goals by 2035, with Canada and Mexico leading the coalition.

Karl Mathiesen, Sara Schonhardt and Zia Weise report for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
Unicef warns of sharp rise in climate threats to children by 2050

Unicef warns of sharp rise in climate threats to children by 2050

By 2050, eight times more children will face extreme heatwaves, three times more will experience floods and millions will face other environmental crises compared to today unless urgent action is taken to address climate change, according to Unicef.

Sarah Johnson reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Court finds Virginia governor's bid to abandon greenhouse gas reduction coalition illegal
Credit: Pixabay

Court finds Virginia governor's bid to abandon greenhouse gas reduction coalition illegal

A Virginia judge ruled Gov. Glenn Youngkin lacked authority to remove the state from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a key program to cut emissions and fund climate resilience.

Jake Bolster reports for Inside Climate News.

Keep reading...Show less
Members of the National Guard assist an elderly woman and other survivors of an extreme weather event.
Credit: The National Guard/Flickr

Survivors’ stories bring the climate crisis into focus

The Guardian and its partners share gripping testimonies from people worldwide experiencing the devastating realities of climate breakdown today.

Bibi van der Zee reports for The Guardian.

Keep reading...Show less
Biden accelerates clean energy loans before Trump takes office

Biden accelerates clean energy loans before Trump takes office

The Biden administration is rushing to finalize $25 billion in clean energy loans through the Department of Energy before President-elect Donald Trump, who opposes many green initiatives, assumes office in January.

Benjamin Storrow, Kelsey Tamborrino, Brian Dabbs and Jessie Blaeser report for POLITICO.

Keep reading...Show less
From our Newsroom
unions climate justice

Op-ed: The common ground between labor and climate justice is the key to a livable future

The tale of “jobs versus the environment” does not capture the full story.

Union workers from SEIU holding climate protest signs at a rally in Washington DC

El terreno común entre los derechos laborales y la justicia climática es la clave de un futuro habitable

La narrativa de “empleos vs. proteger el medio ambiente” no cuenta la historia completa.

unions and labor movement

LISTEN: Pradnya Garud on the role of unions in climate justice

“They’ve been able to combine forces and really come forward to bring social and environmental change.”

People advocating against the US hydrogen hub build out

Hydrogen hubs test new federal environmental justice rules

A massive push for hydrogen energy is one of the first test cases of new federal environmental justice initiatives. Communities and advocates so far give the feds a failing grade.

photos of people protesting the hydrogen hub buildout

What’s hampering federal environmental justice efforts in the hydrogen hub build-out?

“Organizational change in large bureaucracies takes time.”

photos of people protesting the hydrogen hub buildout

Los obstáculos para garantizar la justicia ambiental en los centros de hidrógeno federales

“El cambio organizacional en las grandes burocracias lleva tiempo”.

Stay informed: sign up for The Daily Climate newsletter
Top news on climate impacts, solutions, politics, drivers. Delivered to your inbox week days.