* Plans to cut carbon footprint by 2-3 pct between 2016-2021
* Reductions linked to executive remuneration
* Targets include Scope 3 emissions from product sales
By Ron Bousso
HOUSTON, March 14 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shellsaid on Thursday it planned to reduce carbon emissions from itsoil and gas operations and product sales by 2 percent to 3percent during the 2016-2021 period, the first time the companyhas issued carbon footprint targets.
The targets, which will be linked to executive pay, aim tocut greenhouse gas emissions from its oil and gas extraction andrefining as well for fuels and other products sold to millionsof customers, known as Scope 3 emissions.
Rivals BP and Total have already setshort-term targets on reducing carbon dioxide emissions, butthose planned cuts are limited to their own operations andexclude Scope 3 emissions.
"Early 2019, it was decided to set a Net Carbon Footprinttarget for 2021 of 2-3 percent lower than our 2016 Net CarbonFootprint of 79 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoule," Shellsaid in its 2018 annual report, which was released on Thursday.
The targets will be linked to the remuneration of around 150executives in 2019, and expanded to 16,000 employees next year.
The Anglo-Dutch company last year announced an "ambition"to halve its carbon footprint by 2050 by increasing its outputof lower-carbon products including natural gas, biofuels,electricity and hydrogen.
Its decision to set targets in 2019 comes a year earlierthan it had previously indicated.
The oil and gas industry has come under growing shareholderpressure to tackle carbon emissions following the 2015 Parisclimate agreement seeking to reduce emissions to net zero by theend of the century, mostly by lowering fossil fuel burning.
Mark van Baal, head of the shareholder activist group FollowThis, said the targets were not sufficient.
"Shell takes another step towards Paris," van Baal said in astatement. "However, this will not get us to Paris."(Reporting by Ron BoussoEditing by Paul Simao)