The Shell results will also quickly be forgotten. They are largely accounting rather than cash losses, the result of a giant write-down in the future value of the company's oil fields and prospects. Already investors are turning their attention to next week, when chief executive Ben van Beurden will present the company's long-awaited plans to shift the company towards greener forms of energy. Pension funds and other big investors are pushing hard to get Shell to do more. The same pension funds, however, are reliant on the big stream of dividends that flows from the oil business. They will be hoping that Mr van Beurden will be able to pull off the trick of using that income to fund the investments in green energy that will – hopefully – yield a similar juicy dividend income in the future. Other big oil companies are also feeling the strain. On Tuesday, BP reported that it lost $18.1bn in 2020, marking its first annual loss in a decade.