BP chair feels the heat as he faces investors after axing climate plans

BP suffered an investor rebellion after facing shareholders for the first time since abandoning its climate strategy.

- Jillian Ambrose

About a quarter of shareholders voted against the chair, Helge Lund, at the firm's annual general meeting in London, which attracted protest from several green campaign groups.

The Guardian understands five protesters were blocked from entering the meeting, which marked the first time in at least a decade that more than 10% of BP's shareholders voted against the chair's re-election.

The activists from Fossil Free London and Energy Embargo for Palestine protested outside the venue, describing the board as "murderers, looters and genocide enablers", before major institutional investors voted against the re-election of Lund.

The shareholder meeting was held weeks after Lund, who presided over BP's failed green agenda, promised to step down from the firm by next year.

Despite his resignation, the chair was forced to face a shareholder vote to re-elect him to the post until his departure. The resolution received a provisional 24.3% of opposed votes.