Shell's 'what will you change' climate poll drew 199 votes and thousands of enemies

On November 2, 2020, Shell posted a Twitter poll for its #EnergyDebate campaign: 'What are you willing to change to help reduce emissions?' It drew just 199 votes — and went viral for the wrong reasons. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez replied she was willing to hold Shell 'accountable for lying about climate change for 30 years', a tweet liked 350,000 times. Greta Thunberg accused the company of 'endless greenwash'.

Scientist Katharine Hayhoe said she was willing to hold Shell accountable for 2% of cumulative global greenhouse gas emissions — equivalent to all of Canada; Shell hid her reply, she said. Peter Kalmus accused Shell of gaslighting the public by framing the crisis as individual choices; the Sunrise Movement, Rainforest Action Network and CNN's chief climate correspondent — who compared the poll to 'Freddy Krueger asking what you're willing to change to get better sleep' — piled in. Campaigner Jamie Henn counted more than 4,000 replies, and not one positive.

The replies had decades of material: a confidential 1986 Shell report, revealed by the Guardian in 2017, had already warned the changes 'may be the greatest in recorded history', and a 1991 Shell film said waiting for final proof of global warming would be irresponsible. Meanwhile the company's recent low-carbon investments remained tiny next to its fossil fuel spending, and its net-zero plan covered only about 65% of the emissions from the oil and gas it produces, according to green shareholder group Follow This.

199 votes but 4,000+ hostile replies; AOC's rebuke alone was liked 350,000 times, and Shell hid a climate scientist's reply and was accused of gaslighting

The question shifted responsibility for emissions onto consumers while Shell's own product was the emission source.

Critics could quote Shell's internal record back at it — the 1986 report and 1991 film showed the company knew the stakes decades earlier.

The modest low-carbon investment and a net-zero plan covering only part of production emissions made the ask read as greenwash.

Hiding Katharine Hayhoe's reply compounded the gaslighting accusation instead of answering it.

Asking the public to change while your product is the problem invites accountability, not engagement — engagement bait only works if you can survive the honest answers.

Eight hours after launching the poll, Shell signed off sounding chastened, saying 'changing the energy system requires everyone to play their part' and pointing to its pledge, made the previous week, to reshape its portfolio of assets and products to meet customers' cleaner energy needs in the coming decades.