The Financial Times reports that activist shareholders will grant Royal Dutch Shell a reprieve over climate targets ahead of the company’s annual general meeting next month. It says: “In a reversal, Dutch shareholder group Follow This, which had spearheaded a campaign over Shell’s climate targets, said the company had become ‘an industry leader’ in adopting emissions targets. It will now increase its focus on other companies. The shift comes after Shell adopted its first short-term CO2 target last month, on top of its ambition to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2050, including its own emissions as well as those from the use of its products.” The investor group includes asset managers Actiam, MN, NN, Blue Sky Group, Van Lanschot Kempen and Aegon. Reuters also covers the story and adds that Follow This has also been targeting Shell’s rivals BP, Equinor and Chevron with shareholder resolutions.

Meanwhile, the Independent reports that “seven environmental and human rights organisations are launching legal action against Shell for what they see as the company’s inadequate efforts to tackle climate change”. It adds: “Friends of the Earth have been joined by Greenpeace and ActionAid, as well as 17,000 people who have signed up as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit. The groups are calling for the oil giant to align its business with the goals of the Paris climate agreement, which seeks to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Their court summons will be submitted to the company’s headquarters in The Hague, demanding that the company sets out plans to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The green groups point to analysis by the Carbon Disclosure Project that shows Shell is one of the 100 fossil fuel producers responsible for 71% of greenhouse gas emissions since 1988.”

The Guardian reports that Norway’s $1tn oil fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, is “to plunge billions of dollars into wind and solar power projects”. It says that the decision follows Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund selling off its last oil and gas assets. The Guardian continues: “Other national funds built up from oil profits are also thought to be ramping up their investments in renewables. The moves show that countries that got rich on fossil fuels are diversifying their investments and seeking future profits in the clean energy needed to combat climate change. Analysts say the investments are likely to power faster growth of green energy. Norway’s government gave the go-ahead on Friday for its fund to invest in renewable energy projects that are not listed on stock markets. Unlisted projects make up more than two-thirds of the whole renewable infrastructure market, which is worth trillions of dollars.”

During a visit to Germany this weekend, former US president Barack Obama praised youth activists who have been leading global protests around the world to demand action on climate change. The Hill reports Obama saying: “A lot of those people can’t vote. They’re too young to vote. But they know what’s going on…They’re making change. And those habits, and that sense of power they’re developing now, that’s going to carry over for the rest of their lives.” He later added: “The sooner you start, the better…You wouldn’t let your grandparents decide what music you listen to, or what clothes you wear. Why let them decide what world you will live in…Things change when we strongly mobilise. Our planet on which we live is in danger. We can’t succeed by sitting back and waiting for someone else to do it.” Meanwhile, the Times reports on how “young Republican activists are trying to change their leadership’s rejection of climate change amid alarm that it is so out of step with their generation that the party risks losing elections”. It adds: “Campaign groups have been formed to push for conservative solutions to climate change to show younger voters that the party cares about the environment as much as they, and the Democrats, do. Organisers admit that President Trump’s hostility to climate science and green power are hampering their efforts but believe they can get the White House on board.”

In other US-related news, Reuters reports that in Texas “the heart of the shale revolution is starting to show fatigue”, adding: “The volume of crude being pumped out of Texas recently saw its first monthly dip in a year. Oil well productivity in Texas’s Permian basin – the country’s largest oil field – is falling, and the number of drilling rigs operating in the United States has declined for six straight weeks.” The Hill reports that a bipartisan group of senators is pushing for funding at the “highest possible levels” for carbon capture technology development: “The 12 lawmakers, including four Republicans, urged Senate appropriators to provide the Department of Energy with maximum funding for carbon capture, utilisation and storage.”

Reuters carries news first reported in Der Spiegel magazine that Germany is considering introducing a new carbon emissions tax. Reuters says: “The economy ministry confirmed the report to Reuters, saying a council of economic advisers had been asked to investigate a possible system for pricing CO2 emissions. The advisers have long called for some form of carbon emissions pricing and had in the past advocated introducing a form of harmonised pricing for carbon used in electricity generation, transport and heating, Der Spiegel said.” Reuters quotes a ministry spokesperson saying: “Work is currently underway to commission the expert council to carry out an assessment. The assessment will explore a possible system of CO2 pricing. The further details are still being discussed.” Separately, Reuters that the German government “plans to approve after Easter an aid package for the mining regions affected by its plans to phase out coal by 2038”. It adds: “The plan envisages €14bn ($15.72bn) of aid for the four states affected by the coal exit and €26bn in direct federal investments in the mining regions.” In January, Carbon Brief published analysis about Germany’s proposed coal phaseout.

In an in-depth interview with Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Tortoise (a new UK-based journalism start-up) asks him about his priorities should he take up residence at No 11 Downing Street. McDonnell reveals that he has written to Sir Tom Scholar, permanent secretary at the Treasury, telling him he expects the department to “widen the range of economic theories and approaches in which its officials and those in the rest of government are trained”. Most significantly, says Tortoise, he wants a green revolution. He says that the Treasury must test all its decisions against environmental impact. The letter says: “On environmental sustainability, the latest scientific evidence demonstrates that failing to curb greenhouse gas emissions to within a 1.5C limit will severely undermine the government’s ability to deliver its wider economic and social goals.” McDonnell adds that he wants the Treasury’s “Green Book” (the criteria on which decisions are made) rewritten: “It’s called that because it is coloured green but we are going to turn it into the real green – meaning environmental – book. It will be redrafted so that civil servants know that everything we do has to be orientated around climate change.” Tortoise adds: “Kevin Anderson, head of the Tyndall Centre for climate change research, is said to have been influential in McDonnell’s embrace of climate science.”

There is widespread media reaction to the launch of the new Netflix series Our Planet presented by Sir David Attenborough. A number of outlets focus on a dramatic scene featuring walruses. The Times says: “Two-tonne mountains of blubber and tusk may not be as iconic as polar bears, but the horrific deaths of hundreds of walruses could make these ‘Arctic refugees’ the grim new symbol of climate change. Pacific walruses, stressed by the retreat of sea ice, have been filmed dragging themselves up precipitous cliffs and falling to their deaths from the top.” MailOnline says “shocking Our Planet footage shows how climate change is causing walruses to plunge to their deaths off cliffs ‘they should never have scaled’, as retreating sea ice pushes them further onto shore”. Writing in the Independent, Lucy Jones says that “with its apocalyptic shots of melting glaciers, Our Planet attempts to bring home the realities of climate change – but by now, nature documentaries should be going even further…Maybe it’s time for natural history filmmakers to disrupt the status quo, and even, heaven forbid, get a bit more preachy?”

The demand for air conditioning created by rising temperatures will be costliest in populous African countries such as Nigeria, a study finds. The study uses modelling to project rises in heat stress across the African continent at 2 and 4C of global warming. It also uses population data to work out how heat increases could translate to an increased demand for air conditioning. It finds countries with less developed energy infrastructure, such as Somalia, could also be most affected by increased demand for air conditioning.

The production of oilseed rape – which is used in biofuels and edible oils – could be significantly impeded by climate change in some parts of Europe, research finds. Using modelling, the research finds crop production in southern Europe could decrease as a result of increased droughts by 2080. The results highlight “the need for developing adaptive management strategies and future breeding strategies for crop cultivars to guarantee a well-established and healthy crop under climate change”, the authors say.