Shell said last month that windfall taxes imposed by the European Union and U.K. following the surge in profits would cost the group about $2 billion.

British oil giant Shell on Thursday posted its highest-ever annual profit, bolstered by soaring fossil fuel prices and robust demand since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

The extraordinary scale of the industry's earnings has renewed criticism and sparked calls for a Big Oil windfall profit tax.

"The bulk of Shell's investments remain tied to fossil fuel businesses, because the company doesn't have a target to slash its total CO2 emissions this decade, as is required to reach Paris."

According to a statement to investors from BP CEO Bernard Looney late last year, this refers to "secure, affordable and lower carbon energy."

"That Shell's annual profits more than doubled last year, while millions of people have been facing the impossible choice between putting food on the table and heating their homes, is simply staggering," said Sana Yusuf, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth.