LONDON – Royal Dutch Shell investors are expected to change the company’s name Friday and approve moving its headquarters from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom as the oil giant faces criticism it has been slow to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Shell says the changes will accelerate payouts to shareholders and help the company shift its focus to renewable energy. Shareholders met Friday to vote on the plan, including a simplified corporate structure that will give the Anglo-Dutch firm a single class of shares and unify its headquarters in London.

The move illustrates the challenges oil companies face as they pivot from a business model that has generated huge profits and reliable dividend payments for shareholders toward a more uncertain future tied to wind, solar and biofuels. With returns from the new ventures still unknown, investors are demanding quick returns from existing assets, said David Elmes, an energy expert at the U.K.’s Warwick Business School.