BP Faces Pushback From Shareholders

04/24/2026

British Petroleum's board faced a major backlash at its first shareholder meeting under new leadership, as shareholders staged three major blows against the oil giant. Over 50% of shareholders at the company's annual general meeting voted (successfully) to block a proposal to scrap existing climate reporting commitments.

The defiance continued as shareholders also defeated a plan to move future meetings to an online-only format. This move was viewed as an attempt to avoid in-person scrutiny. The frustration culminated in a significant protest vote against the new chair, Albert Manifold, with 18% of vote against his re-election, a sharp rebuke for a leader of such a company.

This revolt follows BP's recent shift to focus even more on oil and gas production. Shareholders were further angered when Manifold refused to include a resolution from the climate group 'Follow This' in the meeting, and instead put forth a different resolution to weaken their climate disclosers.

This all comes in the midst of shareholder's worry about BP's value in a renewable future.