Shell walks ‘tightrope’ of demands amid climate pressures

By DANICA KIRKA
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Royal Dutch Shell has received approval from shareholders to simplify its archaic corporate structure that grew out of a merger more than a century ago of a British firm that once traded in exotic seashells and an oil company in the Netherlands. The changes will mean a single headquarters in London and one class of shares, instead of two. Shell says it will create faster payouts to shareholders and boost its shift to renewable energy amid criticism it has been slow to cut carbon emissions. The move illustrates the challenges oil companies face as they pivot from a business model that has generated huge profits and reliable dividend payments for shareholders toward a more uncertain future tied to wind, solar and biofuels.