Equinor ASA (EQNR) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Before we start the meeting, we will have a short run-through of AGS by [ Julie Nelly Ang ].

Good evening, and welcome to this General Meeting at Equinor Business Center. We want to inform you about our escape routes if we need to evacuate the building. We haven't planned any tests. So if the alarm comes, it is real. If the alarm comes, everyone has to exit the building right away, follow the security personnel's instructions. Emergency exits are in the back of the room and on that side. When you get outside the building, spread out and when things are normalized, we will let you know. To get to the podium, you have to use the stairs on this side. Be careful when you use it. And finally, I want everyone to respect the time allotted for presentations.

Welcome to this General Assembly and Equinor ASA. Simultaneous transition to English is available. For those present in this room, headsets with English translation are available. If you are logged into the Lumi AGM, you can choose English version by selecting preferred broadcast language. We will therefore continue in Norwegian.

My name is Finn Kinserdal, shareholder elected member of the Corporate Assembly in Equinor. As seen in the notice, the general assembly should be opened by the corporate assemblies leader. But [Indiscernible] has injured himself and cannot attend at today's general meeting. The corporate assembly's Vice Chair could not attend either. So the corporate assembly decided on the 8th of May that I would open today's general assembly in accordance with the Public Limited Liability Act Section 512. With me, I have the Chair of the Board, Jon Erik Reinhardsen, the CEO, Anders Opedal; Legal Director, Siv Helen Rygh Torstensen; and Counsel and Board Secretary, Marte Johanson Hanasand. Before we begin, I want to ask everyone to please turn the sound off on their phones. Voting will be electronic via Lumi AGM. All shareholders who are here have received information concerning electronic voting and shareholders who are digitally here will find guidance at equinor.com. I want to start with some practical information. Items will be opened for voting after we have registered represented shares. This happens in a few minutes so that we've registered everyone who logs on. The opportunity to vote for the items will be clear on your screen and visible via the bar diagram symbol. We will open all items on the agenda at the same time, and you can choose to vote for all of them at once or wait until the item is readed. You choose how you want to vote by clicking for, against or abstain or you can change your votes until each item is closed. After that, it will not be possible to vote on this item anymore. If anyone wants to speak during the general meeting, please give a sign and present by name. Shareholders can give the right to speak to one adviser. Whoever speaks must be asked to walk up to the podium using the chairs next to the podium. Using the podium microphone is necessary for technical reasons and the direct transmission of the general meeting via webcast. Contributors will have up to max 5 minutes to present the -- say what they want to say, but others will have up to 3 minutes to present their views. Such a limitation is necessary to ensure that everyone can speak if they wish to do so. Shareholders who are digitally present can send questions and comments on the items until they are closed. It is possible to send questions and comments to all items on the agenda already now. Questions and comments from shareholders will be sent to Equinor's moderator team, Lumi, to remove any inappropriate language. Questions will be published continuously. We advise you to mention which case you have questions or comments for when it's sent in. The shareholder will be identified by name, but not by portfolio. Questions or comments that come in after an item is closed, will not be answered. It can also be necessary to group questions and answer them all at once if this is considered wise. Questions that -- about cases outside the agenda will not be answered. When it comes to Item 6, 7, 15 and items 8 to 14, the questions and comments will be treated under together. And I'll come back to that later. Since there might be a natural delay of 30 seconds after presenting every case, there will be a short break to ensure that we have enough -- as many votes as possible. We might have to take some small breaks during the process. Since -- as I open the meeting, pursuant to the Public Limited Liability Act. I will make a list of the shares that are legally represented, and we have the following -- 111,660 shares presented by 300 million -- 2,003,500 -- we have 28 shareholders voting for 26,778 owned shares. In the hall, we have 26 shareholders voting for 2,170,000 approximately votes. Owned shares and 7,700 shares through proxy. This makes 2 billion -- more than 2 billion shares. 78.2% of the total shares. It is now open to vote for all cases, and we will now treat the first case, which is the choice of chair for the meeting. We make you whether you can vote for this item. This will be closed very soon. So please be ready to vote right now. For those of you who didn't understand how we vote, this is also described on the Info page, upon log on, and we will also make you whether that you can vote already now for other cases. And please put your hands up if you need help getting in. Voting results for all cases will follow from [Indiscernible] appendices that are posted on the website briefly after the general assembly. The Board originally planned for having the corporate assemblies leader as the leader of the meeting for the general assembly. Since he [Indiscernible] cannot be here, we suggest that I, who am a shareholder elected member of the corporate assembly as the meeting -- I will chair this meeting. Any other suggestions, I can't see any other suggestion. We haven't gotten any comments or questions. It will very soon be closed. [Voting]

We have now gotten confirmed that we've gotten a majority for the proposal. And Finn Kinserdal, I then -- I will then chair the meeting. We'll go to the next item, which is approval of the notice and the agenda. Remember that the voting is closed when this case has been attended to. The PLA Section 5-10 says that the general meeting shall be given notice in writing to all shareholders with a known address. Pursuant to the PLA Section 5-10, this should be sent -- at the latest 3 weeks before the meeting. I notice with appendices has been sent to all shareholders in accordance with the laws deadlines. Notice, financial statements and annual report has been posted on the company's web page in accordance with the law and the statutes of the company. The notice is in accordance with the law and the statute. As chair of the meeting, I suggest the following procedure for handling the cases, 6 to 15. First of all, I open Item 6 concerning the potential statements, the annual report and dividend. The CEO will then give his statement. After that, each of the proposals in cases 8 to 14 will present their cases. First, after all of the proposals have been presented, we will open for further comments concerning the items 6 to 15. Other comments or questions via Lumi AGM will then be read and answered. The purpose of treating these together collectively is to be efficient. Voting will still be in accordance with the notice for these items. Just presentations, questions and comments have been put together, whilst each case will be treated consecutively. This is the same -- we've done it the same way we've done it in previous general meetings. We'll then go to voting concerning approval of the notice and the agenda if there are no comments to this case. I cannot see anything there. No questions. We will then very soon close the voting in this case. [Voting]

It is confirmed from DNB that we have a majority for the proposal and the general meeting is declared legal, and the agenda is declared passed. We'll go to Item 5, choosing 2 people to sign the protocol along with the chair of the meeting. Remember that the voting is closed when the case has been treated. To sign the minutes, we suggest Georg Fredrik Rabl and Fride Seljevold Methi. Are there any other suggestions from the shareholders? No. So no questions or comments. We will, therefore, close voting very soon. [Voting]

It is confirmed from DNB that we have a majority for the proposal and go Georg Fredrik Rabl and Fride Seljevold Methi are chosen to sign the minutes with the chair of the meeting. The General Meet will now treat Item 6, concerning the financial statements and the annual report and dividends for fourth quarter of 2022. 7 to 15 and items 8 to 14 will be treated together with case 6. Please, if you comment by Lumi, note down on which item you are speaking of. The financial statements and the annual report is with -- everything is available on the company web page. I will now give the word to Jon Erik Reinhardsen, the Chairman of the Board, who will talk about the Board's view of the operations and the dividend. The Board's suggestion of proxies to authority to pay dividends based on the financial statements. And case 15, corporate governance and the Board's response to the 7 proposals from shareholders, Items 8 to 14. Then Anders Opedal will speak, the CEO and the Chairman of the Board will later, under Item 16 on the agenda, speak about the Board's guidelines for remuneration to leading personnel and the Board's report on remuneration to leading personnel for 2022.

Thank you, Finn, and good afternoon to everyone. In my account before the general assembly today, I want to cover the Board's view of the operations and proposal for dividend. The Board's statement concerning corporate governance and the Board's response to the proposals from the shareholders. I will give my own account concerning salary and other remuneration to leading personnel under Item 16. In 2022, the geopolitical situation change with the innovation of Ukraine and the subsequent changes in security threats. Equinor's main priority has been to keep a secure, efficient and predictable operations to continue to be a reliable supplier of energy to the markets in Europe in a very challenging situation. Security has the highest priority for the company and the Board. No deaths and no actual or possible large accident was registered in 2022. And the total number actual serious events is the lowest that the company has ever experienced. At the same time, we see that there's still room for changes. And based on our results in 2022, we acknowledge the need to continue the work to strengthen our security results. The severity of personal injury has gone down, but it's -- there are still too many who injure themselves working for Equinor. The activity level is high in our industry, and it's important that we get all new employees, representatives of the employees, partners and suppliers on the good security work that is done. The Board closely follows up security and maintains a good dialogue with the administration concerning security. This isn't done in practice by making security a topic for every Board meeting and through the community for security, sustainability and FX. Also, information security has received a lot of attention in 2022. We see increased threats within cyber security, and the company has made an effort to strengthen robustness in this area. When it comes to the financial results from the business. The company achieved a return on capital employment in the first quarter. They have had a return in the first time among other comparable companies. Total return to shareholders was 56.5% in 2022 in Norwegian kroners. Over the past 5 years, we have delivered a return of 143 -- 47.3% in Norwegian kroners, which is in the first quarter. We delivered strong financial results with an operating profit of USD 78.8 billion. The adjusted operating profit was USD 74.9 billion before tax and USD 22.7 billion after tax. In 2022, Equinor paid $45 billion in income tax, of which $44 billion was paid in Norway, where Equinor had the largest share of its operations and earnings. We continue to focus on costs and improvements and have created value from higher prices with a solid operation. At the same time, we see increasing cost pressure and inflation in the supply chain. As a result of high cash flow, we have improved the adjusted net debt ratio from negative 0.8 in 2021 to negative 23.9 at the end of 2022. The solid operations and good results. The company has also taken with them into 2023. I will now explain the Board's report a proposal for dividends. The Board's work in 2022, and the Board's report on corporate governance. Item number 6, 7 and 15. The Board's statement on executive pays is addressed, as mentioned at the beginning, under Item 16. The company's dividend policy has increased the cash dividend measured in U.S. dollars, in line with the long-term underlying earnings. The Board decides on dividend payment for the first to third quarter based on a mandate from the general meeting. The general meeting approved the dividend for the fourth quarter and thus the year as a whole at the proposal of the Board. In 2022, the ordinary cash yield was $0.20 per share for the first, second and third quarter. In addition, extraordinary cash changes of $0.2 were paid for the first quarter, respectively, $0.5 for the second quarter and $0.7 for the third quarter. Beyond this, we have completed the buying program for stocks as part of the capital distribution. In total, the buyback program was for 2022 $6 billion. For the fourth quarter, the Board of Directors of the General Assembly proposed a cash dividend of $0.3 per share and an extraordinary quarterly dividend at $0.6 per share. Like previous years, the Board of Directors will ask the authority to decide quarterly dividend until the next general meeting. The proposal for dividends is according to our dividend policy, where except -- the need to take into consideration expected cash flow, investment plans, financial needs and necessary financial will also be taken into account. On the agenda today, we have our own item for continuing the repurchase program. That Board handle matters with great importance or extraordinary in nature and may ask the administration to submit other matters for treatment for processing. The Board has adopted a generic annual agenda for the Board work that is being revised periodically. The Board often discusses climate-related upside and downside risks and Equinor's strategic response to these. In 2022, the Board discussed the climate change and energy transition on all their ordinary Board meetings as an integrated part of the discussion or as separate items. New Board members participate in an introductory program with key people in management. Here, they get an introduction to Equinor's business and relevant information about the company and the Board's work. The Board also carries out an annual self-evaluation of its own work and expertise with external facilitation. In the annual self-evaluation of 2022, confidence and knowledge related to climate change, as usual, were included as an important element. The valuation report is discussed in the Board meeting and made available to the Nomination Committee and is also discussed at a meeting between the Chairman and the Chairman of the Board as an input to the committee's work. The Board held 8 ordinary meetings and 3 extraordinary meetings in 2022 with a meeting participation of 99.17%. The entire Board or parts of it regularly visits different Equinor plants and offices in Norway and globally. In 2022, the Board with the administration went for a trip to Great Britain, where the Board was updated of Equinor's increasing activity in the country, including oil and gas, renewable and low-carbon solutions. This year, Equinor published an integrated annual report for the first time, which includes Equinor's resolve for important sustainable areas and the progress of the energy or the plan in addition to the financial annual report. The energy transition plan was presented for advisory voting at the General Assembly in May last year and 97.5% of the voters in attendance then supported the plan. We move in the right direction on each of the 3 main dimensions of the energy transition plan, reduction of emissions from Equinor operated fields, the proportion of our investments that goes to renewable energy and low carbon solutions and reduction of carbon intensity for the energy we do supply. Equinor's own greenhouse gas emissions were 11.4 million tons of CO2 equivalents, a decline compared to 2021. The ambition is to reduce its own emission by net 50% by 2030 compared to 2015. In 2022, we had a good progress against this ambition, and the emission from self-operated fields are now more than 30% lower than in 2015. The CO2 intensity was 6.9 kilos of CO2 per barrel of oil equivalent, which is less than half the average in the -- of the 16 kilo CO2 per barrel and well below our 2025 target of 8 kilos of CO2 per barrel. Emissions from the consumption of the energy we produce, so-called Scope 3, are estimated to be 243 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents, which are a slight decline compared to a 3-year average. The Equinor has an ambition to -- that more than 30% of the investment in 20 -- more than 50% in 2030 is going to new energy and low carbon solutions. The company is on track towards the 2025 ambition and the gross investments for renewable energy and low carbon solutions increased to 14% in 2022 from 11% in 2021. Delivering on the energy transition plan is important for Equinor, but I would also like to mention that it is a demanding task. We must deliver a balanced energy transition where all the elements of the energy trilemma are covered, in [Indiscernible] Norwegian, affordability, sustainability and security of supply. Trilemma gives also need for oil and gas to have a secure balance transition without energy crisis. But to obtain this, the authorities around the world must facilitate the necessary strong growth within the renewable and low carbon solutions. Every year, we will report on the progress as part of our yearly report. Let me now address the income proposal. That means 8 to 14 on the agenda. In the material that was handed -- shared in the beginning of the General Assembly. The Board has commented on the proposal and given a reason as to why they propose to vote against all the proposals. I'm going to go into some of these topics here. First case, Item 8, that is about use of glass fiber rotor blades, investing in water power and research on other energy sources. Equinor acknowledge that all activities have possible consequences for the environment. This applies to offshore wind parks in general and concrete problems such as final disposal of the wind turbine blades. In order to deal with our influence on nature and the environment, in addition to comply with current laws and regulations, we will follow recognized practice for environmental management. Equinor uses its competitive advantage to create value in new areas of the energy system and deliver on our ambition of climate neutrality. A key element of this work is our ambition to become a leading global player in offshore wind. At the same time, we recognize the potential of both existing and new technologies. Examples of relevant technologies within our current portfolio, our battery technology, renewable, solar and wind power as well as fusion energy. The Board thanks for the proposals and emphasizes the importance of complying with the principles of good corporate governance, including that the company's strategy is determined by the Board. The Board, therefore, propose to vote against this proposal. So case Item 9, which is a proposal from a shareholder that Equinor identifies and handle the risks and possibilities tied to climate and integrated this in the company's strategies. Over the last 15 months, the value on importance of energy for society has shown, while the consequences of global climate change show that it is imperative to take a step that leads us closer to the goals of the Paris agreement. The energy sector has to think in new ways to reduce systemic emissions and develop low carbon solutions and need time to do that. Here is where Equinor is well positioned to deliver our part of that energy the world needs, and at the same time, reduce emissions from their own business and invest in systemic -- system changes that must happen on the way to climate neutrality. The energy transition plant, which 90% of the shareholders who were present at the General Meeting in 2022 gave its support to contains ambitions in the short, medium and long term and describes a business model and strategy for Equinor's energy transition that is compatible with limiting global warming in line with the Paris Agreement while promoting the company's long-term robustness. Equinor believes that intensity-based ambition is a better approach to Scope 3 emissions than absolute reductions of the same. This because our ambition of net carbon intensity includes both energy production and emission. In this way, this reflects our contribution to energy transition. Our strategy is still to be a supplier or a trustable energy with lower climate gas footprint over time towards 0 in 2050. The Board therefore recommend to vote against this proposal. So items 10, 12, 13 and 14, that is related to oil and gas and also supported the Ukraine. Equinor has a history as a safe and reliable manufacturer and supplier of oil and gas. Our strategy is to continue to be a supplier of reliable energy with a gradually lower greenhouse gas footprint over time against net zero in 2050. In addition to our primary source of energy, there's also a need for oil and gas as a fact for low-carbon fuel, for example, blue hydrogen for sectors that is difficult to decarbonize. And as materials, other products like energy, some like chemicals. And the contracts to deliver to the National State and oil and gas company Naftogaz. The Board recommends that shareholders vote against this proposal -- these proposals. Finally, I want to address Item 11. The process for treating shareholder proposals forwarded to the general meeting is fundamental, well developed and in accordance with law. The company is grateful for all communication with our shareholders and suggestions. This give valuable suggestions to the management and Board. As mentioned in the energy transition plan that was presented and part of an advisory vote on the General Assembly of 2022. The plan based on science, dialogue with stakeholders. And awareness of that changed expectation to companies in the future low-carbon society. The background for such an advisory vote is to let shareholders give their views to the company on whether the Board is on the right course. And if the emission level since the strategy and the energy transition plan was set. After the Board's view, the process connected to shareholders' proposals, both in correspondence with go to corporate governance. They give valuable input to the management in the company. Again, the Board is grateful for the involvement. Based on what I've mentioned, we advise the General Assembly to vote against the suggestion, the proposal. Okay. I want, on behalf of the Board to thank CEO, Anders Opedal, and his team for a good delivery and a period of volatility and in security. I also want to express a special thanks to all employees for the effort they have made throughout 2022. And with that, I give the word to the CEO. Thank you for listening.

Thank you, Chairman. Dear fellow shareholders. It's nice to see you here today, both those of you who are here at [indiscernible] and those who are following us online. The General Assembly is to me an important date in the calendar. And the General Assembly is also an important arena for shareholders to share their views. Let me look to the past a little bit. We've been through a year of great extremes. The war in Ukraine has been going on for over 1 year. The human suffering is enormous and hits the population hard. And outside Ukraine, the war has had great consequences. Through making energy a weapon, Russia has disrupted the energy markets. This has led to increased energy prices and difficult situation for consumers and industry, especially in Europe. As perhaps the largest supplier of energy to Europe, we've been in the thick of things. Our focus has been to secure stable supply, the responsibility we take very seriously. The first priority is the security of our employees and securing infrastructure and our installations onshore and offshore. It's supposed to be safe to work for Equinor. With such a backdrop requires us to have a clear strategy and direction, we supply energy. And at the same time, we transitioned the company to a future with a net zero emission. Our strategy remains firm. We will optimize our oil and gas portfolio, have profitable growth within renewables and establish new value chains within low carbon solutions. As an industry player, we have an important role to play when it comes to the transition to a low carbon society. But we are not living in a vacuum. Equinor has set ambitious goals to reduce emissions. We have done so also in the countries where we are present, and both must deliver for us to succeed. This work will be very demanding and the circumstances we are in complicate this work. From being almost solely climate focused, the debate has now included the 2 other elements of the energy trilemma, energy security and pricing. We believe it's important that the debate is now more balanced, not at the cost of climate because we keep our ambitions, but the debate needs to be more realistic about what is necessary to transition energy and industry in a responsible way. Let me focus a little bit on what Equinor did in 2022. Despite a turbulent world, Equinor delivered their best results ever. We responded to the energy crisis and contributed to energy security. Solid operations and high prices gave record high results and cash flow. Capital distribution to the shareholders was stepped up. And at the same time, we invested in a balanced energy transition and contributed to society with increased tax contribution. We also had many industrial milestones throughout the year in all 3 focus areas in our strategy. We managed a quick exit from Russia and started our production on new, both at Snøhvit and Peregrino. Phase 2 at the Peregrino field started in October. And not least, we put Johan Sverdrup Phase 2 in production, which increased production from the field to 720,000 barrels a day, and we will now run a capacity test for 755,000 barrels. After the upgrade and lifetime extension, the [Indiscernible] field also came back in production at the end of the year. Within renewables and low carbon, we were given the CO2 storage license, [indiscernible], and signed the first commercial deal for Northern Lights. We bought the battery storage company, East Point Energy and solar power developer, BeGreen. We also delivered several plans for expansion and operations on the Norwegian shelf. Fields with low breakeven prices and low emissions. Such an activity level is not possible without a solid team effort from employees, suppliers and partners. I want to thank our 23,000 employees who through their hard work contributed to deliver energy to the world in a secure and predictable way. An important part of this has been to increase gas production at a time when Europe needs the most. When putting such a year behind us, it's important to look ahead. Last year, we presented our energy transition plan to an advisory vote for at the General Meeting. It received support from more than 97% of the votes and was the declaration of confidence to our plan for transition. This year, we've reported on our progress and as the Chairman of the Board has mentioned, we deliver. In Equinor, we will continue to do what we can to deliver also in the future. But to succeed, we need a broad political agreement about the central issues in the energy and industry politics both when it comes to general conditions and political decisions. Access to abundant competitive renewable energy is the basis for maintaining current industrial possibilities in Norway and develop those of tomorrow. Norway needs more renewable energy, a larger grid and more effective use of energy. All this faster. Most countries where we are present, they have the same challenge. And we see the dilemmas and the decisions that need to be made. One must figure out area conflicts and areas where different interests play against one another. This will not be an easy task, but it will make it even more important to succeed. The consequences of global climate changes shows that it is very necessary to take measures that get us closer to the Paris Agreement goals. The energy industry must think in new ways to cut emissions and develop new energy systems. We must increase the pace of investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-carbon solutions to decarbonize the industry and society, and we're doing so in Equinor. Last year, we increased the share of investments that went to renewable energy and low carbon solutions. This increasing trend has continued in the first quarter this year. In 2030, we expect that half our investments will go to renewable and low carbon. To ensure just an inclusive change of the energy system, we must safeguard sure -- safe access to energy at reasonable prices. The geopolitical situation requires that the energy transition happens in a balanced way. This will require more investment in energy production and infrastructure to get down the unit costs for energy. And the supply security and the decarbonization of the industry will be central. Such a transition requires a long-term and stable general conditions, even in a scenario with a net zero emissions of the International Energy Agency, there will still be a need for oil and gas in the energy mix in 2050. Much of the need in the future will be connected to factor inputs to the industry and materials for consumer goods to a growing global population. Let there be no doubt. We are stand firm in our ambition, and we will continue working with authorities in all countries where we are present to deliver energy in accordance with our strategy. It can be tempting to always change conditions and present new ambitions. But what the world needs to deliver on emission cuts is not only ambitions but action. Many people are impatient, and I understand them. We are also impatient, but we have to look far ahead. We cannot risk creating an energy crisis with the consequence that, that has, even though the goal is good. The year we have put behind us was turbulent, but in Equinor, we moved in a positive direction towards net zero. We build industrial solutions that in generations will supply energy to the world. Finally, I want to thank the Board and all the employees for a good collaboration throughout the year. Thank you so much for listening.

Thank you to both of you for your statements. We are now going on to the shareholders' proposal, but they will be open comments from the room after each has been presented. And those who are present digitally will must put it in Lumi. This will be processed ongoing. And please note that will be not open for questions later when item 6 to 15 goes to vote. You can vote now. [Voting]

So if you were to follow the Board's proposal, you vote against it. If not, you will go forward. We go on to now case 8. And this is from the meeting's notice, and we can show on the screen and will not be read out loud. We understand that the proposal -- the person who proposes is not present. We will get back to case 8 and the vote after the other proposal has been presented. And then we're going to move on to Item 9, which is a proposal from World Wild Fund and Greenpeace. And you see this from the meeting notice is shown on the screen and will not be read out loud. And I remind you that this -- my name is [ Ravnil Elizabeth Borgard ], and I am the leader of the Climate and Energy Fund in WWF and Greenpeace. You can -- what you read on the screen is not very radical. This is the [Indiscernible] own policies. Briefly, we have written proposals that's in line with the expectations for the company -- that says that the company needs to have plans according to the Paris Agreement long term and that then [Indiscernible] report on direct and an indirect emissions, Scope 1, 2 and 3. The state's goal is the highest possible revenue. You can look at... A greener and more active ownership that was decided in -- starting this [indiscernible]. The Board of Equinor has suggested that you should vote against the proposal. This shows that the company does not want to follow up the government's expectations of their ownership. It's perhaps not so surprising that Anders Opedal and the management like this proposal. Equinor remains an oil and gas company, even though the [indiscernible] commercials say something else. 98.7% of the energy production was fossil in '22. And if the company had followed up the ownership message, this would have forced Equinor to reevaluate the strategy and increase their investment in renewable energy. It's even more surprising that the Board suggest that we should vote against the proposal. We can't understand that the government can trust a board that wants to vote against their policies. That -- the Board is against this puts -- and fix should he vote against the government and vote with the Board or should he vote for this proposal and then break with the Board. No matter what the result is tonight. The most important thing is that Equinor understands that it's time to take the signals from the ownership message. The expectation that all state-owned companies should have follow the 1.5 [Indiscernible] target. This has not come in a vacuum. It's the same as the UN Climate Panel and many others say. There's no room for building more oil and gas fields. It's a risky business to have a short-term strategy. That means we will boil the planet. The first thing Equinor must do is to stop all oil and gas projects. Equinor is planning an aggressive activity in vulnerable areas, the world over. It's embarrassing that a company owned by the Norwegian people is one of the great drivers between -- behind opening new oil and gas production in many countries. We are here with friends from many of these countries that are very worried about how these projects will affect nature, climate, economy and living conditions for local population and native population. The [Indiscernible] that Equinor says they have high importance. But we also hear that they are not so important when it comes down to it. Equinor can't gamble that they should be the last oil company to produce oil in the world. It's a responsible bet with the shareholders' moneys. The company should instead take the lead and making a new business plan that takes the transition -- energy transition seriously. This is not the first time I'm here. I've been here several times, and the reason is that we need a company that we can be proud of. A company which does what the world needs a company that doesn't make Norway's reputation outside of Norway [Indiscernible]. I'm here for the youth who doesn't have a vote, but who will sit with the chaos that will come with the climate changes. So I ask you all to think through this, should we support this proposal. And I wish you the very best of luck, and I want a written vote. Thank you.

Thank you for your presentations. I will remind you that we'll come back to questions and comments to the case after we are done with all the presentations. We all go on to case number -- item 10. [indiscernible] has proposed a following resolution. You will see that on the screen. This will not be read out loud. And you have 5 minutes for your presentations. Shareholders, Board, there are good times and there are bad times. Never in our time has the profit being so high, the climate -- gas so high and the war so close as it is today. Equinor has never made more money than they did in 2022. The high gas prices make that makes Equinor -- makes more money than any other company in the history, their result, NOK 234 billion after taxes and about NOK 170 billion of this goes to the shareholders. And part of the profits are allocated to an increase in the new investments in -- but both mostly oil and gas. Their record earnings are not a result from an extraordinary effort by the management employees. But even though it's excellent, but are driven by artificially high natural gas prices due to the energy crisis in Europe. And as a consequence of Russia's invasion in Ukraine. Equinor makes good money from this war. But I would not characterize Equinor as a war profiter as some credits do. But the extraordinary high revenues can give you certain associations with war -- to war profiteering. And his presentation of the IPCC 6 and [ Gloomy Synthetic Report ], United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres said, humanity is something nice and the ice is melting fast. He calls on rich countries to accelerate the goal of 0 emissions. Our world needs climate actions on all fronts, everything everywhere at once. And he added to -- we need to stop all oil and gas exploration for our goals for net zero emission, and he made no exceptions for Equinor. The World Bank has estimated that the reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure destroyed by Russian warfare in Ukraine will cost about $411 billion. And there's about NOK 4,300 billion over the next few years. The Norwegian government has promised Ukraine to pay NOK 75 billion over the next 5 years. That means [ 17% ] of the need, a little more than a drop in the ocean. That is approximately NOK 15 billion per year. As a shareholder, we are now facing a serious ethical dilemma should Equinor elect the entire profit created by the Ukraine war or go to the acquisition of its own shares and to dividends to shareholders, et cetera, or should the company let a small but important part go to rebuild in Ukraine's destroyed energy, infrastructure and new renewable energy. By matching the government support of NOK 15 billion per year, it would only be reduced from NOK 170 billion to NOK 150 billion. That's a little bit more than the drop in the water -- in the ocean, but still is one of the fattest dividends in Equinor's history. So based on this, I want the General Assembly to support my proposal to stop looking -- drilling and support Ukraine's energy supply. Thank you for your proposal. We're now moving on to Case 11, that is a proposal from Even Bakke. You see the proposal on the screen, and we'll -- this will not be a read out loud. You have 5 minutes for your presentation. And I remind you that potential questions and comments will come after all the presentations.

Chemical engineering and have over 40 years of international experience in clean tech and renewable energy, including 14 years at ABB, where I was Business Area Manager for ABB's Global Environmental Business with engineering offices in 25 countries. I'm also a member of the Norwegian Grandparents Climate Campaign. First, I'd like to thank the Board for their response for my proposal. It is generally well formulated, and it shows at least good intentions. However, the Board and the Management do not walk the talk [indiscernible]. They show a breathtaking lack of response and arrogance towards shareholders' proposals. This is considered [indiscernible] Equinor and Statoil [indiscernible] enormous amount of money. Norway has a unique regulation for corporations with more than 200 employees. It is the corporate assembly [indiscernible] elect and can remove the Board, not the shareholders in the Annual General Meeting. This is completely contrary to common international practice for limited liability corporations. When the AGM elects the Board, it ensures good governance as the Board is ultimately responsible to the shareholders. Oddly, this is not the case in Norway. However, the regulations can be reversed with the unions [indiscernible]. The government's policy and state-owned and particularly partly-owned companies is to manage them on an arm length basis. This results in a completely passive ownership. The government policy is that the Board of Directors are responsible to manage and oversee the company. This begs the question, is the government remiss in their duty as a majority shareholder and thus it not questions the competence of the Board. Equinor corporate assembly consists of 12 independent and 5 employees, all are Norwegians, with no or limited international experience. This is for a company that has operations in 30 countries, of which many are corrupt. The large shareholders such as BlackRock, Vanguard, Schroder, RBC, et cetera, hold about 25% of the shares. They are normally active shareholders at the AGM, particularly in the Board election. This is a very important duty and instrumental for removal of unsuitable Board members. But because of this peculiar Norwegian regulation, they cannot vote on the Board composition. And therefore, the Government Equinor has [indiscernible] oversight checks and balances through active participation by the international shareholders. This is contrary to good corporate governance. The overall result is that the Management and the Board have complete freedom to do whatever they like to do with impunity. Let me illustrate the problem with a few shareholders' proposals that have been turned down by the government, on advice by the Board, to the detriment of the company and the shareholders. [indiscernible] activity in Canada. First, -- the first shareholder proposal to withdraw was in 2009. These proposals were submitted repeatedly for 6 years until finally, 2016, Statoil withdrew with a loss of NOK 4.2 billion. Second, the Energy Transition Plan was proposed by the shareholders already in 2015 and every year for 7 years before Equinor finally issued one in 2022. Third and the worst case is when Equinor finally was forced in 2021, to disclose the enormous financial losses of about NOK 220 billion from the fracking activity in the U.S. A shareholder proposal to withdraw in 2020, was [indiscernible] by the government, on the advice of the Board, and no personal consequence for the Board or the Management. There have been many proposals questioning Equinor's international activity where they have had significant financial losses or being involved in corruption cases [indiscernible] strong local opposition such as in Canada, Australia and Argentina and now in the U.K. In fact, about half of the 30 countries where Equinor is present, have documented very high corruption risk. This seems to be at odds with the Equinor stated, no tolerance for corruption. Since 2009, 42 proposals from Norwegian shareholders have consistently been [indiscernible] by the government to own 67% of the shares, based on advice from the Board. So what to do? In one way, Norwegian people's ownership in Equinor must be managed in a much improved fashion. The arm length policy [indiscernible] simply does not work, nor is it appropriate in a modern context of a good corporate governance. The first step will be to have the AGM vote on the composition of the Board. This would allow the shareholders to question the competence, suitability and performance of the Board members. The second step would be to significantly increase the participation on the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the AGM. The Ministry must greatly improve its competence on the international oil and gas business and thereby execute more active ownership in the AGM participation, including submission and support of shareholders' proposal. No doubt this proposal will be [indiscernible] like most proposals as that undermine the protective structure and [indiscernible] for the senior management and the Board of Directors. But I ask is that everyone on the Board consider if they are truly acting in the best interest of Equinor, its shareholders, all stakeholders and most importantly, people of Norway. Thank you.

Thank you for your speech. We'll then go on to case 12 and 14, which are both from Gro Nylander. The Item 12 and 14 is in the notice that you find on the screen here, and they will be not read out.

You're a bit wrong because I represent today both Norwegian Grandparents Climate Campaign and Norwegian [indiscernible]. So I cover 12 and 14. Thank you for everything that is so good and the report on that. Could you say a little bit more because we want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Equinor has served us well and made [indiscernible]. My agenda is to share some concerns with you. [indiscernible] about how climate-friendly the company is, is called greenwashing. And it reminds of the idea of whitewashing money, like laundering money, but this is just a part of the emissions that Equinor makes outside of Norway. And we can't really be too proud of that. Anders Opedal, you recently said that finding balance is very important because if we only go to renewable or only go to oil and gas, then we won't be able to meet the future. And equilibrium and balance sounds fine. Equinor promises to spend NOK 100 billion on renewable over 10 years. That means NOK 10 billion every year. That's enormous, but seen together with the idea that Equinor gave the shareholders NOK 170 million, that's not very much. And in 2025, one expects 30% of investment going to renewable energy, but in 2 years, and you also said that within -- by 2030, more than half in 6 years. Don't tell me, show me, okay? Equinor deserves credit for what they actually do, especially [indiscernible]. The will to do something increases, but will it be too little, too late? Newspaper presented [indiscernible] what are you waiting for and 42 out of 43 suggested proposals have been refused by the government representatives following advice from Equinor. But year after year, the company does exactly what we've suggested and in the meantime, Equinor and Norway have lost billions and damage the climate. Three examples only. We have suggested that Equinor should sell their [indiscernible] activity in Canada [indiscernible] down every year. But after 2 years, sold with a loss of more than NOK 4.2 billion, that's a lot of money. And the second one, stopping drilling in sea areas south of Australia, the Grandparents Climate in 2019, it was voted down and the year after, you pulled out. We also suggested pulling out of fracking, it was voted down in 2020. And in 2021, you pulled out with a loss of more than NOK 200 billion. And the history repeated itself last year. All proposals were voted down, even the one that was in accordance with Equinor's own goal that we should have increased investment in renewables. Why did you suggest that we should vote again? And what did you give us the rights to vote against that? Now I'm putting on my white coat as [indiscernible] scientist for a long time. We've been so proud in Norway that we've contributed to a better global health. Now it's going the wrong way. The WHO say that climate changes are the greatest threat to the world's health ever, and doctors have an ethical duty to speak up. And that's why I'm standing here and ask you to take seriously that everyone's Equinor today contributes to this situation. 1,000 doctors have warned the parliament [indiscernible] the extreme weather is causing damage and death. Most of it happens far away, but we don't want to support so very well the injustice that doesn't harm us directly. Heat, cyclones and other weather -- extreme weather will drive people, make -- create new refugees. And many people died in heatwaves. And Spain had 40 degrees last week. Little children and pregnant women are hit the hardest. But the risk increases for all of us, heart, strokes, lungs, depression, anxiety, infections, et cetera. Many things have been shown. The UN and just about any serious climate scientists are crying out red alert, stop looking for more fossil fuel [indiscernible]. At the same time, Equinor wants to develop and increase fossil activity and the government keeps giving them new licenses. Good climate measures is good for both health and economy and to quote [indiscernible] who was a member of our Climate Action, the cost of reaching the Paris Agreement goal will be much lower than the reparation and adjustment that is necessary afterwards. Prevention is better than the cure. The market analytics are suggesting that the price of fossil fuels will fall when renewable energy increases. But the risk of -- I remind you of the tobacco companies who had to compensate for billions because they continued after they knew about the risks of tobacco. Equinor will not be able to defend themselves by saying they did not know. The case in the Netherlands, where the Supreme Court sentenced the state to 25% emission reduction within 5 years. And there's a case in [indiscernible] supported by 26 institutions, all Norwegian ones. As a rich country with a lot of emissions, Norway has with Equinor, a responsibility to be in -- at the fore of the climate battle. And I want to remind the government representative, who has always voted against all climate proposals that the government or the state that is us, that is the people, Equinor is on their way with good project, but also bad ones like Barents and Rosebank. Record economy but not least because of the war in Ukraine and some of the surplus must go to rebuilding the Ukraine in addition to what they say and already plan for. This will also give a boost to the reputation of Equinor. And this might be necessary for you to be safe in the boardroom. You have probably paid attention to the shareholder protest against [indiscernible] is adjusting down their climate goals. He wasn't thrown last week, but many people voted against him also because of what the minister speaks about unreasonable salary ridiculously high. Also, Equinor shareholders care about management salaries. They have to be, we need to put the brakes on, but we'll talk about that now. But we ask for moderation. We here will not see the worst consequences of the climate changes, but most of us have children and grandchildren. And will they in the future ask, was increased dividend more important for Equinor than the grandchildren? Our moment in history is now because the judgment of history can be strict. When the government came back after the Second World War, they were met by critics from -- criticism from the parliament and the media. [indiscernible] from the Parliament's podium said, they did their best. That's their excuse, that's their judgment. Is Equinor doing the best for the coming generations? There is no planet B.

Thank you for your presentation. And we're going to go on this #13 from [indiscernible] and that is in the general meeting notice. It is shown on the screen. It will not be read out loud. You have now 5 minutes.

Thank you. On behalf of the Grandparents Climate Action, I have 4 recommendations to -- or proposals to the shareholders. And I am in the country's Board and I've also been a representative for [indiscernible] and because of huge large climate catastrophe across the world and that me as a grandmother is concerned for my grandchildren's life conditions. And that's why for 13 years, I've been a member of Grandparents Climate Campaign, This concern is not just about my grandchildren, but also the children and grandchildren of all you present here. The catastrophe that we are standing in front of, that if it continues, it won't be great. And can you be responsible for that? It is the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries that's taken over the responsibility and it would have been fun to see the minister here, but one of them on the first row, will probably vote on behalf of the state's shares. [indiscernible] we have to stop all exploration for more oil and gas if we are going to be able to reach for the Paris Agreement. He maintains that you have to -- that [indiscernible] of world leaders to address the climate change must be regarded as a criminal. The International Energy Agency has also stated for several years that there's no room for any new oil and gas fields if we are to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. In despite of this, the government has this year opened bidding for 47 new exploration areas and submitted another 92 areas for [indiscernible] most of them in the vulnerable Barents Sea. Common to all of them is a long distance to existing infrastructure. In the event of discovery, the development will be expensive, and there will be no revenues until 2040. And the Barents Sea has been a failure for Norway, both in terms of discoveries and financially and economy. The office of the Auditor General has also pointed out that oil spill preparedness in the Barents Sea is inadequate. 30th of March, the Minister of Trade, Industry -- Trade and Industry, [indiscernible] stated at the conference, the bridge to the future. And I had -- I was there that the government will invest heavily in renewable energy and green industry. And we, in BKA, find this very positive. But the minister did not [indiscernible] the fact that the oil industry is draining the country of most of our skilled laborers, workers that could work on this. And that has a huge problem that Equinor must therefore step down its all related activities and instead become the leading player in the production of renewable energy and the development of new green industry, which we need. Equinor plans to greenwash production by electrifying oil platforms to reduce Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, it doesn't help when Norwegian oil and gas are combusted abroad. Then the emissions are the same size, no matter where they come from. The plans for electrification of [indiscernible] represent such a project, powering the plants from shore. This will result in major encroachment on untouched nature and in [indiscernible] areas in addition to a severe shortage of electrical power for households and business in Northern Norway. Instead, the possibility for carbon capture and storage must be explored here and Norway can then become the leading nation. Article 112 of the Norwegian Constitutions. Do you know that, is both a human right clause and an environmental clause. And although young friends of Earth Norway and Greenpeace lost the climate losses in Supreme Court. The verdict contains clear guidelines that concerns the Norwegian oil industry, the Norwegian National Human Rights Institution, NIM. Do you know them? One minute. They say that the ruling, it's to mean that future production licenses for oil and gas must be balanced against the impact. This will have on our ability to reach the 1.5-degree target. Equinor must therefore present a step-down plan for oil and gas production, enabling Norway to become net zero by 2050 as they had committed to. Thank you.

Thank you for your presentation. We are now going on to debate. We are open up for input for the CEO and Board -- the Chairman of the Board before we take on any kind of comments. I want to make some comments in regard to [indiscernible]. I want to note that [indiscernible] it's not the general assembly, it's not a natural forum to ask a question for other shareholders. This is Equinor's General Assembly. We have received a document from the Ministry where they ask for minutes from Item 9 as a vote explanation for Item 9. It is a meeting chair that decides, and we have decided to accept this. So that the general assembly can over try the Chair -- the meeting Chair's decision. The minute from the state expect from 2023, more green, more stately ownership, that one, the company identifies risk and handle and integrate this into their strategies. Number two, the company sets goals and initiates measures for reduction for climate emission [indiscernible] long term according to the Paris Agreement and a report on this. The goals are science-based where this is available. Number three, the company reports on direct and indirect climate gas emissions and climate risk and then use known standards for reporting on the climate emission and climate risk. The state expects that the Board and the administration work actively with the government's expectation and assess if and how they'll be taken into consideration of the company's energy transition plan. The state voted for Equinor's energy transition plan on the General Assembly in 2022. Based on that, the company is very clear on the long-term value creation and supports the goals for the Paris Agreement. It is the Board's responsibility to administrate the company, including making the strategy of the company and also between the owners, the Board and CEO. The state, I believe it's not appropriate to decide on the expectation of the company's general assembly, but that they are followed in the dialogue with the company. This will -- this will be in all we added into the minutes to the protocol.

We then go to other presentations. Since everyone should have an opportunity to speak, please speak briefly and stay within the time frame of 3 minutes. I ask those who want to speak, raise their hands. Then we can start with you on the front to the right. Everyone else, keep your hands in the air, if you want to speak, and we'll note down your names and we'll bring you up. Please present using your name. Please state your name first.

[indiscernible] increased gas export comes from [indiscernible]. Instead of electrifying [indiscernible] department has asked the government to look at Ocean Wind, which Equinor says it's too expensive. Many mayors said that we are losing the battle for LNG access. There is positivity that all companies should have to store carbon as much as they emit. Which role should Equinor have in Ocean Wind and storage of CO2? Will Equinor meet particular goals of reducing carbon emission? We want Equinor to be in the floor. Only 1% of the energy that Equinor has produced, comes from renewable energy. It is therefore unrealistic that within 2 years, we should be able to reach Equinor's own goals of 30% of Equinor's investment going to renewable energy and 50% by 2030. Equinor hasn't presented a detailed action plan with measures and how to reach the ambition of 50% cuts by 2030? We will therefore need a clear plan. In Case 11, the Board, again, the Board wants to vote against a better process for items presented by shareholders. Like mentioned, most shareholder proposals have been voted down by the government ownership -- state ownership. But if these proposals have been taken into account, this would have saved money for Equinor. I've suggested several times better procedures, but these have not been accepted for many years. And competency has been criticized before, not to mention losses abroad and unethical use of common means. In Equinor's guidelines for corporate governance, shareholders should be given reliable information about the company, and there should be continuous learning when it comes to health and safety and environment. There could be a better quality in this area. And the ownership message, there's also an increased [indiscernible] to skeptical attitude to the passiveness of the state as an owner. We need focused risk management. If we do so, this would be good for shareholders in Equinor.

Then I will ask [indiscernible] to come up [indiscernible].

Thank you. [indiscernible]. I am a shareholder, but I'm also an employee of this company. I'm also a grandfather. But I would like to propose a point. I will look at proposal 14, specifically because it's a very dramatic stop -- production stop looking for oil and gas. That would be a catastrophe for employment in Norway. Hundreds of thousands of people would lose their jobs if such proposal was accepted. As responsible for so many people, we cannot support this as I am in the union. Oil and gas is huge in the world and that the need for oil and gas isn't [indiscernible] in Norway. The 100 million barrels are required every day and the need increases. The greatest increase is in petrochemical industry, those who produce products where the oil does not go to combustion, they increased a lot. Oil is needed for several things. For example, an electric car, lots of people like that, almost half the car is made by plastic product that comes from petrochemical industry. The same goes for electric buses, boats, et cetera. They need oil and oil products. Wind turbine, like this business is going to go for. They need oil for gears and hydraulics. And so without oil, you won't get electric vehicles, you won't get wind turbines and many other things that, for example, your toothbrush, which comes from the same production system. So a society without oil is impossible. The question is, how can you produce, how should you produce and where should it go and how should it be used. The growth in population in the world is great. It's about 8 million people more in the world every year. They need more energy, they need food, clothing, et cetera. That energy someone needs to produce it on the way. And Equinor has a goal of being a responsible supplier. We propose from our side as a grouping and company that the company should invest more in petrochemical industry so that you steer more of the production from combustion to products. You get a different situation for emission, not zero, but a lot lower than you have today. So we think that would be a good way to use a lot of the surplus. Norwegian production is much better and has lower emissions than many others. Many just [indiscernible] they just burn it and pipes that are so big, you can't hold around them, 24/7 all year. So we want production to be in Norway instead of those, and we think that's a good way to go for this company up until 2050. The main strategy of Equinor has good support among the employees. Thank you.

Okay. Thank you. And then we have [indiscernible]. Please prepare. Three minutes, please.

Hello, everyone. My name is [indiscernible], and I thank you all for your time today. I am from Newfoundland and Labrador, the province in Canada that [indiscernible] hopes to be sanctioned in. And I do have a few concerns about it initially, the fact that it is 560 kilometers away from St. John's, only 60 kilometers away from our protected economic zone, which is home to our beloved codfish, which we have fished for over 400 years. Equinor has claimed that the risk of [indiscernible] is minimal, but scientists analyze Equinor's own data and repeat this assumption and say that there is actually a 16% chance of a serious spill occurring. Canada's regulations are out of date, and we are not prepared to contain a serious oil spill, which could devastate fisheries, marine ecosystems and can disrupt traditional indigenous marine ecosystem such as the salmon fishery. MIT who represents a group of indigenous communities in Canada, is actually suing to overturn the government's approval of [indiscernible] in Canada. Because these indigenous communities feel like they were not consulted adequately on the project and because [indiscernible] is a huge risk to the tradition that is for salmon fishery. Even if these environmental risks could be prevented, there is no such thing as green oil, and Equinor is breaking the climate targets by planning to extract this oil, when there are many other sustainable industries available, specifically in Newfoundland and Labrador. Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to give examples. Canadian communities have been devastated by severe storms, have been destroyed by fires and floods, which have been related to oil and gas expansion, and will only be even more prevalent in the future. Equinor's actions are Norway's actions. So I ask, how will Equinor account for the disregard given to local and indigenous community engagement, and how will a state-owned company consider Norway's climate policy, which highly suggests that oil and gas should not expand to meet the Paris accord. Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Thank you. [indiscernible]. 3 minutes, please.

Okay. I'm the Latin America senior campaigner for 350.org. And I came from a very far country, Argentina. Many of you may know not that Equinor also has operations in Argentina. And I'm going to focus in one of their operations [indiscernible]. Why I'm focusing on that because there is no any kind of [indiscernible] for what Equinor is going to do there. Equinor already obtained 8 blocks for systemic exploration in the center of Argentina and in the southern part of Argentina. In the center of Argentina, and I want to stress that, that part has been never explored. That means that Equinor is not committed to their own commitment of limited new frontiers. This is advancing new frontiers. And in the cost, people are absolutely frightened because that part of Buenos Aires, fishermen and most of the population depends on tourists. And nobody can guarantee that even something like seismic exploration cannot affect the fauna and the flora of a very dedicated system that [indiscernible] but also Equinor has other 2 blocks in one of the southeast part of [indiscernible] almost very close to Atlantic Southern Island. This is very fragile. The blocks are not in protected areas, but are right in the limit. Nobody can guarantee that exploration seismic will not affect the protected areas because that study can -- has not been done. So I'm here to ask you shareholders, you managers, directors and the Board. Do you want to be part of being pronounced as one of the leaders of the extraction of the South Atlantic or do you want to help our population and, for example, promote more community-led renewable energy? This is up to you. Thank you.

[indiscernible].

Thank you. Dear General Assembly. My name is [indiscernible]. I'm 22, and I am Vice leader in nature and youth. I represent thousands of people. I present myself [indiscernible] and I put my life on hold just to put all my time into the climate fight. And I see no reason to apply for a job in Equinor. Well, I'm done, but I hope you changed that. I have one share in Equinor, and I have one request both for [indiscernible] oil production [indiscernible]. Equinor uses every year, millions of kroner -- this is a message or should I say it's a cry for help from tomorrow's heroes because Equinor's climate is not [indiscernible] company that lock the money and their work to new oil project for tens of years to come, it's not a broad energy company, 99.7% of the production is still fossil. If they can't be kept responsible, if they can't meet the goals, Equinor does not pass, and you cannot bet on the future of the world. So you have a huge responsibility. So stop to use a terrible war for the excuse to pump oil. They will only come on the market in 20, 30, 40 years. Stop saying this is the world's last oil company. And be the world's most promising energy company. Take responsibility for the climate changes that Equinor oil and gas produces every day. These climate changes to me, my little sister and brother and millions of people already today, are affected by. It doesn't help to say that we need to be patient. We are in 2023. I can't complete a master's degree to see if we have reached the 2030 goals. Think about that and the danger [indiscernible] not the climate activists, but are the people that invest in more oil and gas, who has increased the fossil production. All of these years, we know we should have stepped down. And we all learned this during our -- it's stupid to procrastinate and here we are. And if a Norwegian company with the state as the main owners with a record returns can make this necessary fast transition, when? And the youth's patience is gone. Equinor is about, well, both for my future and both for -- let me be proud of this company for the future, then you need a fast, fair transition. And I hope all the shareholders will take that responsibility here today. Thank you.

Thank you, and you have 3 minutes.

Good evening. My name is [indiscernible] from Brazil. I'm a biologist and a mother, and I'm here as part of Civic Society, protecting our land from the Equinor Bacalhau project. It took me 24 hours to get here, so I'm here to hear and to be heard. Equinor have plans for new oil production outside Sao Paulo State, where I live in the pre-salt area of Bacalhau. Bacalhau is an area surrounded by fragile ecosystem in a coastal region recognized as a hotspot for biodiversity [indiscernible] and other marine species. The licensing process of Equinor for Bacalhau was not an ethical process. It was approved without fulfilling the requirements of the law and civil society approval. [indiscernible] extremely problematic Brazilian government, as you know. In Equinor's application, ocean currents were underestimated by 30%, including oil from spill could not reach the coast. By simply correcting this [indiscernible] oil could reach Brazilian shores. Also, floating sensors were deployed [indiscernible] where a potential oil spill can end up. 2 of the sensors ended up on our beaches. Equinor concluded in their report, you could not reach Brazilian shores. In addition to these technical problems, we also detected the application does not consider a blowout of the worst-case scenario. Equinor is not immune to well blowouts. Under Brazilian Regulations, the application should not be able to be approved without this. [indiscernible] could create an oil spill the size of Norway. An important part of Equinor's application process is an open hearing. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the public hearing was online-only event. This prevented most of the traditional communities from participating, important voices were never heard, and some questions were never answered. Equinor claims the climate crisis, the biggest challenge of our time. We have to ask why the company is not investing heavily in renewable sustainable energy in Brazil instead of pushing to expand its oil business, misleading people on the risks and impacts, which will be felt far beyond 2030. This year, a lot of people enjoying the carnival holidays on the beautiful beaches we have in the coast in the influence area of Bacalhau. During this holiday, massive rainfall led to flooding, mud was covering the streets. Trees were falling over, many landslides and damaged buildings and people were trapped in the town. Hundreds became homeless or displaced. It was a climate affecting population and tourists in [indiscernible] Bacalhau. 65 people died, 700 millimeter rain fell in 24 hours, the heaviest rainfall in Brazilian history. This is the effect of climate change, driving by projects like the one Equinor proposed in Bacalhau. We ask you to stop your plans for Bacalhau field and new oil fields. We ask for Climate justice and socially and environmental fair investments and licensing process. We ask you to take climate targets more seriously. We cannot and we will not stop fighting for this. So thank you for this opportunity to be heard, talking directly to you, and it's in your hands to make a good decision with more effective solutions and commitments. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

[indiscernible] shareholders' general meeting. My name is [indiscernible], and I am an employee of the company. I am a grandparent, shareholder and also in the Union Industry and Energy. I worked for Statoil for several years and have followed as part of the union, I followed the company with a critical eye from the inside. But in my view, the main strategy when it comes to the first climate footprint is and has always been, clearly, it's been clear, it's the most climate-friendly energy company in the whole world, and that concerns all the products we deliver at any time. The product portfolio is continuously assessed, including commercial opportunities in renewable energy. I think you have to work in the company to understand how quickly it goes and how much it has done for -- on the green energy spectrum in terms of money and human capacity and how quickly the company has managed to respond to and meet expectations. In the business area I ran, I was working continuously with finding commercial, scalable and renewable green projects all over the world. I just want to mention [indiscernible], which is the largest ocean wind park that can deliver energy to 6 million homes in the U.K. In Norway, we're working closely with authorities when it comes to renewable energy. They also have their conflict areas and their opponents and that is something we have to understand. And except that this will be something that will take time. [indiscernible] say that the world will need more and more energy in the future in all shapes and forms. And that means that Norway -- that maybe Norway and Equinor will have to continue looking for oil and gas, while also working on commercial alternatives. Green energy forms that the world needs, the volumes the world needs and the important such areas and that are also commercially viable. The political stability requires that predictable countries continue to be predictable, not least in the gas sector, and that we continue to play along with authorities and the rest of Europe and the rest of world -- in the world to get a predictable and climate-friendly transition of the energy sector. We need wise heads to continue to contribute with innovative solutions in our industry. And we have to speak positively about the energy industry. And for example, about companies like Equinor with the muscles to be part of the solution. So thank you.

Thank you. Welcome to [indiscernible]. I ask to please [indiscernible] to be prepared. 3 minutes, please.

[Interpreted] Hello, Good afternoon. My name is [indiscernible]. I try to come to the stage with the water bottle that comes from the [indiscernible]. You can see it over there. It's quite polluted. I come here today from Vaca Muerta [indiscernible] Patagonia, Argentina. The representative of my community, the original state nation, the Mapuche people. And I'm coming here today to talk about the activities that you are developing, like fracking in our territories. Since 2017, Equinor associated with Shell and YPF to extract gas and nonconventional oil through fracking in the region of Vaca Muerta. The company currently invests in 2 projects that are within our territories. That's [indiscernible]. The first project is in an area that is a state-protected natural area with rich diversity, paleontological and archaeological resources as well as is a secret land for our community because it's one of the centers for the ceremonial traditions. The second project of Equinor is [indiscernible] the rivers. It's also leaving many towns and cities without drinkable water in our region. Our village community is suffering daily by the impact of fracking. They can see it in their health that it gets worse with the pollution [indiscernible] the biodiversity is also suffering. Yesterday, we were in the cultural center. Most important for the economic activity in your country, the oil [indiscernible]. There, we listened carefully to your Vice President in Safety and Sustainability. How he talked about the intentions of Equinor to transition to energetically change that will guarantee the clean methods and the care for environment and the respect for human rights in the territories where they develop their projects. Well, now Equinor says they have plans that they look for the future that is clean and safe. They have their own framework that prohibits the new developments that impacts the territories and the biosphere. Our question is, what is the reason why you are performing these dirty and destructive activities in like fracking in territories where you are producing such deep pain.

[Foreign Language] [interpreted] Our future is dark. Children are dying. Our environment is suffering. Don't you realize how this reality is hostile and historically connected to what you are doing as a company in [indiscernible] [Foreign Language] [interpreted] All of this negative situation that we are living in, will shortly come back to your own country. Think about that. How this is not a good idea for the future. [Foreign Language] [interpreted] The world is paying attention. If you see our in danger and damage territories by fracking are flaming next to the Norwegian flag. What are they going to think? [Foreign Language] [interpreted] We are alive. We'll fight for our children, for our land, for our nature, for the present and the future. [Foreign Language] [interpreted] If 10 times we fall, 10 times we will rise.