The leafy surroundings of Sunbury-on-Thames in Surrey will provide an unlikely backdrop for potentially one of the most explosive events of an intriguing shareholder meeting season, as corporate Britain grapples with a rapidly shifting geopolitical backdrop.

Next month, BP will host its annual general meeting (AGM) outside London for a second consecutive year, a move that last year failed to deter the climate protesters who have frequently disrupted oil companies’ meetings.

The company is in the crosshairs over the U-turn it has made on its green ambitions, while investing $10bn a year in new oil and gas projects – and will also be coming under fire from angry shareholders over its poor share performance. There could also be a showdown between the board and the activist investor Elliott, a New York hedge fund, in what could be the last meeting presided over by under-pressure chair Helge Lund.

Many major listed UK companies hold their AGMs between April and May. The meetings offer a rare opportunity for investors who own just a few shares – as well as large financial institutions – to take multimillionaire executives to task over issues big and small before they head for the free sandwiches.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House has changed the picture significantly since last year’s AGM season. Trump has swiftly embarked on an anti-diversity push and his “drill baby, drill” agenda to keep the US, and the world, hooked on oil and gas, so bosses can expect questions about companies’ rollback on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) targets and watering-down of climate goals.

But some large investors are already easing their climate stance. Aviva Investors – the investment arm of Britain’s biggest insurer – last week in effect ditched its 2021 plan to sell stakes in companies that fail to restrict their carbon emissions and meet climate targets. In January, BlackRock, the world’s largest fund manager, became the latest financial firm to quit a major climate change industry group, after coming under attack from US conservative politicians.

“The 2025 AGM season is set to be a tough one for responsible investors,” said Paul Hunter, chief executive of the shareholder advisory group Pirc. “Recent years have seen a concerted effort to roll back progress that has been made to reduce environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. This has been spurred by politicised debate about ESG in the US and what we see as a misguided approach to seeking growth.”

At BP, some investors have voiced concerns that it has decided not to put its climate plans to a vote, while rival Shell will be quizzed by shareholders including the Greater Manchester and Merseyside local government pension funds on its plans to increase sales of liquefied natural gas and how its growth strategy is compatible with its climate goals. HSBC has also drawn criticism from environmental campaigners after postponing key parts of its climate goals by 20 years, while watering down green targets in a new long-term bonus plan for its chief executive, Georges Elhedery, worth up to £9m.

UK-listed companies may also face some heat as they are expected to step away from explicit DEI targets, and to remove diversity initiatives as criteria for executive pay. Trump’s anti-DEI executive order means those with ties to the US have been caught between UK and US standards. The pharma company GSK is likely to face questions at its AGM – at a five-star London hotel in May – over its recent decision to pause diversity activities. It has argued that it had to comply with Trump’s executive orders because the US is the company’s biggest market.

Boardroom pay will be in the spotlight as usual during AGM season, after several companies announced huge potential pay packets for their bosses in recent weeks, arguing they need to stay competitive with US rivals to attract, and hang on to, top executives.

There have been sizeable shareholder rebellions over executive pay in the past – for example, against Britain’s best-paid boss of a listed company, Pascal Soriot, who runs the drugmaker AstraZeneca. His annual pay could go up from £14.7m last year to as much as £25m.

Governance experts Institutional Shareholder Services say questions may be asked about whether the company, after “significant dissent to remuneration proposals at the last AGM”, has “sufficiently assuaged shareholder concerns raised regarding variable pay”.

Astra is among the companies holding its AGM, which is on 11 April, virtually. Since the pandemic, some companies have hosted hybrid meetings – in person and streamed online. While many companies in North America have virtual-only meetings, it is more unusual for large UK corporates to do so.

And for the sake of spectacle, traditional AGMs remain far more compelling.