Dear fellow shareholders,

On behalf of Linde’s Board of Directors, I am pleased to invite you to the 2026 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Linde plc being held in London, UK.

The Linde Board

The Board’s composition reflects a mix of diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills and perspectives that contribute to a strong and well-functioning Board. Each of our nine directors has substantial senior executive experience in areas critical to our business, resulting in meaningful Board oversight of management.

Steve Angel Retirement. Steve Angel retired as Chairman of the Linde Board effective January 31, 2026, after his tenure as Linde plc’s initial CEO and subsequently its second Chairman. We thank Steve for his many contributions to the Board and the Company.

New Board Leadership Structure. The Board routinely evaluates Board leadership succession and the appropriate Board leadership structure for Linde. After Steve Angel informed the Board of his intention to retire, on September 29, 2025, the Board determined that it would be in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders that I be appointed Chairman of the Board while continuing to serve as the Chief Executive Officer effective January 31, 2026. This combined Chairman and CEO role allows me to leverage my knowledge of the Company and the industrial gases industry and lead the Board to focus attention on key strategic matters. The Board also determined that Linde should continue to have a Lead Independent Director to ensure robust oversight by all other directors who are independent, and appointed Robert L. Wood to continue to serve as Linde’s Lead Independent Director. The Board will continue to periodically review the Board leadership structure to ensure that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

Board Recruitment. There has been substantial Board refreshement since 2022, as eight directors have retired, and five new directors have joined the Board. The Board continues to focus on recruiting new directors with the background, skills and experience required to contribute to Linde’s future success.

Board and Committee Oversight of Key Matters

The Board and its committees are actively involved in providing oversight and counsel to management regarding numerous areas that are critical to Linde and its shareholders, including the following:

The Audit Committee oversees key accounting and financial matters, including (1) selecting the independent auditor; (2) monitoring the internal audit function and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; and (3) recommending a capital allocation strategy to the Board.

The Human Capital Committee supervises the executive compensation program, including (1) designing the program to reflect Linde’s pay for performance culture and alignment of shareholders’ and management’s interests; (2) making annual senior executive compensation determinations, including setting challenging annual variable compensation goals, determining payouts based on those goals, and providing long-term stock incentives for executive officers and other eligible employees. It also reviews the safety strategy and progress annually.

The Nomination and Governance Committee oversees selection of Board members, recruitment and refreshment, committee assignments, Board compensation, the Board self-evaluation process, and corporate governance matters generally.

The Sustainability Committee oversees Linde’s programs, policies and practices related to environmental matters, including sustainability goals, decarbonization and clean energy efforts.

The Board’s oversight includes, among others (1) conducting an annual business plan review in January and an annual strategy review in October, in addition to multiple strategic business reviews throughout the year; (2) determining a capital allocation strategy, with a focus on investment for future growth and appropriate shareholder distribution levels. This included 8% and 7% dividend increases in 2025 and 2026, respectively, with 2026 being the 33rd consecutive annual dividend increase, as well as a continuation of Linde’s existing $15 billion share repurchase program; (3) performing an annual enterprise risk assessment; (4) reviewing and approving strategic acquisitions and large capital projects that are a core component of Linde’s growth strategy; and (5) reviewing senior executive talent and management succession planning.

The Board thanks you for your continuing support and confidence in Linde.

Regards,

Sanjiv Lamba

The Board has adopted independence standards for service on Linde’s Board of Directors which are posted at Linde’s public website referenced above. The Board has applied these standards to all the directors and has determined that each qualifies as independent, except Mr. Lamba, the Company’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. The Board is not otherwise aware of any relationship with the Company or its management that could potentially impair the independent judgment of these directors. See also related information in this Proxy Statement under the caption “Certain Relationships and Transactions.”

In General

Linde’s Corporate Governance Guidelines provide the Board with flexibility to determine the appropriate Board leadership structure from time to time. The Nomination and Governance Committee (consisting entirely of independent directors) regularly reviews the leadership structure, and considers many factors, including the specific needs of Linde and its businesses, corporate governance best practices, shareholder feedback and succession planning, as different structures may be appropriate in different circumstances. The Corporate Governance Guidelines also provide that the Board: (a) shall select a Chairman of the Board and determine his/her duties and responsibilities; and (b) if the Chairman of the Board has not been determined to be independent in accordance with the Board’s independence standards and those of the Nasdaq Stock Exchange and applicable law, then the Board may appoint a Lead Independent Director who has been determined to be independent under such standards and determine his/her responsibilities.

In September 2025, Stephen Angel announced that he would retire as Chairman of Linde’s Board of Directors effective January 31, 2026. The Nomination and Governance Committee considered various alternatives for the Board’s leadership structure and determined that a combined Chairman and CEO would be effective and appropriate and the Board therefore elected Sanjiv Lamba, Linde’s CEO, as the Chairman of the Board effective January 31, 2026 The Board believes that the substantive duties of the Chairman, including calling and organizing meetings and preparing agendas, are best performed by someone having day-to-day familiarity with the business issues confronting the Company and an understanding of the specific areas in which management seeks advice and counsel from the Board.

The Board also determined that it should continue to have a Lead Independent Director to ensure effective independence of the Board’s oversight of management. Therefore, the Board determined that Robert L. Wood, who has served as the Lead Independent Director since March 1, 2022, would continue in this role after Mr. Lamba became the Chairman of the Board. The Board believes this leadership structure is effective and appropriate and in the best interests of Linde and its shareholders. With Mr. Lamba as Chairman of the Board, Linde continues to leverage his significant industry expertise, CEO experience and effective working relationship with the Board to lead the Board and focus its attention on strategic matters and facilitate effective communication between the Board and management. As the Lead Independent Director with clearly defined responsibilities, Mr. Wood ensures robust independent oversight of the Company by the Board.

Chairman of the Board Responsibilities

The designated responsibilities of the Chairman are set forth in the Board’s Corporate Governance Guidelines and include, among others:

Lead Independent Director Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of the Lead Independent Director will be determined by the Board periodically and reviewed at least annually. It is the Board’s current policy that such duties include, among others, the following:

At least annually, the Board reviews the Company’s risk identification, assessment and management processes and the guidelines and policies by which key risks are managed. As part of that review, the Board discusses (1) the key enterprise risks that management has identified, (2) management accountability for managing or mitigating each risk, (3) the steps being taken to manage each risk, and (4) which Board Committees will oversee each risk area on an ongoing basis.

The risk factors disclosed in Item 1A of the Company’s Form 10-K and Annual Report illustrate the range of the risks faced by a global industrial company and help explain the need for strong Board Committee oversight of the management of risks in specific subject areas. Each Committee’s calendar of recurring meeting agenda topics addresses risk areas pertinent to the Committee’s subject-matter responsibilities. These areas include: financing and currency exchange risks (Audit Committee); compensation risks, and executive development and retention (Human Capital Committee);

regular review of the Board’s governance practices (Nomination and Governance Committee); internal controls, investigations, and integrity standards compliance (Audit Committee); and risks related to climate change (Sustainability Committee). Other risk areas are regularly reviewed by the full Board. These include: safety (covered at each Board meeting), economic, market and competitive risk (part of business operating reports at Board meetings, and the annual operating and strategic reviews), geopolitical risks, cyber security, and global compliance risks (supplementing reporting within the Audit Committee). In addition, risk identification and assessment is integrated into Board decision-making with respect to capital projects and acquisitions, entry into new markets, financings, and cash flow analysis, among other matters. In Committee meetings and full Board deliberations, each director brings his or her particular operating, financial, management development, and other experiences and expertise to bear in assessing management’s response to specific risks and in providing advice and counsel with respect to risk mitigation and management.

Each year, the Board conducts a comprehensive long-term strategic review of the Company’s outlook and business plans and provides advice and counsel to management regarding the Company’s strategic issues. This process involves engagement by all Board members and senior management. The Board performs a detailed review of management’s proposed strategy for

each of the key business units, which is designed to drive profitable growth over the near-and long-term independent of the macro environment and drive long-term shareholder value creation. Additionally, the board conducts reviews of key strategic issues or initiatives throughout the year.

The Board assesses its effectiveness annually under a process determined by the Nomination and Governance Committee. Typically, this assessment includes each non-management director completing written questionnaires that are used to evaluate the Board’s effectiveness in the areas of Performance of Core Responsibilities, Decision-Making Support, the Quality of Deliberations, Director Performance, and Committee Functions, as well as consideration of additional Board practices and policies recommended as best practices by recognized governance authorities. Similarly, each Committee annually assesses its effectiveness in meeting its oversight responsibilities under its charter from the Board. The Nomination and Governance Committee reviews the results of the written

assessments, provides the results to all Board members, and the Lead Independent Director may conduct a discussion of the results in an executive session of the non-management directors. Subsequently, the Nomination and Governance Committee may recommend certain actions be taken to enhance the operations and effectiveness of the Board and its committees.

The Nomination and Governance Committee conducted the assessment process in 2025. The results were very favorable, and the Committee concluded that the Board and its committees are functioning properly and efficiently and are performing the core responsibilities of the Board generally and that the committees are meeting their key charter responsibilities.

New Directors who join Linde’s Board of Directors participate in a comprehensive director orientation program that involves a review of information developed to present foundational knowledge about Linde. Orientation materials typically include information on Linde’s business, industry and strategy, organizational structure, management responsibility, director responsibilities, Board and committee structure and policies, safety, sustainability, risk management, controls, compliance, regulatory landscape, and technology topics. In addition, new directors may also visit Linde operating plants and/or offices.

In addition, the Board is presented with ongoing education in order to increase directors’ familiarity with

Linde’s business, industry developments and emerging issues. Such content may be prepared for the entire board or for a specific committee and include presentations from Linde management and/or outside experts. Typical recurring topics include executive compensation trends, corporate governance and public company regulatory trends, cybersecurity, sustainability, risk, and regulatory developments. Periodically, board members also may convene at Linde sites or have opportunities to participate in technology demonstrations. Directors may also participate in third-party-supplied continuing education, for which Linde reimburses the directors for expenses.

In addition to leading the annual Board and Committee effectiveness assessment referred to above, the Nomination and Governance Committee annually reviews the Company’s governance practices (which may include an outside expert) and updates those practices as it deems appropriate. The Committee

considers, among other things, the results of the Board and Committee effectiveness assessments, developments in Irish company law, federal laws and regulations promulgated by the SEC, and the views and standards of recognized governance authorities and institutional investors

In addition to periodic senior management talent and succession reviews conducted by the Board, the Human Capital Committee conducts an annual Succession Planning and Personnel Development session to which all Board members are invited and at which executives are evaluated with respect to their potential for

promotion into senior leadership positions, including that of the CEO. In addition, a variety of executives are introduced to the Board by way of Board and Committee presentations, and directors have unrestricted access to a broad cross-section of managers and high potential employees.

The Board’s policy is that a non-management director may not serve on more than four additional public company boards, and the CEO may not serve on more than two additional public company boards. Also, a member of the Audit Committee may not serve on more than two additional public company audit committees

unless the Board determines that such a simultaneous service would not impair the ability of such member to effectively serve on the Audit Committee. If the Board so determines, it will disclose such determination in the Company’s annual proxy statement.

The Company has a robust shareholder outreach program which ensures that the Board and management remain responsive to shareholder concerns. This includes ongoing interaction between Investor Relations and major institutional investors, as well as an extensive shareholder outreach program that is conducted annually. In addition, the Board has established procedures to enable a shareholder or other interested

party to direct a communication to the Board of Directors. Such communications may be confidential or anonymous and may be communicated by mail, e-mail, or telephone. Information on how to submit communications, and how they will be handled, is included at www.linde.com in the About Us/ Corporate Governance section.

Absent extenuating circumstances, each member of the Board is expected to attend all meetings of the Board, all meetings of each Committee of which he or she is a member, and the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders. Director meeting attendance is one of the factors that the Nomination and Governance Committee

considers in determining whether to re-nominate an incumbent director for election at the Annual General Meeting.

All members of the Board attended the 2025 AGM.

Linde’s Board of Directors has adopted a Code of Business Integrity that is posted on Linde’s public website at https://www.linde.com/about-us/corporate-values and is available in print to any

shareholder who requests it. This Code of Business Integrity applies to Linde’s directors and to all employees, including Linde’s CEO, COO, CFO, Chief Accounting Officer and other officers.

Linde’s Constitution requires directors to be elected annually and that a director nominee must receive a majority of the votes cast at an annual general meeting in order to be elected (meaning a greater number of “for” votes than “against” votes) in an uncontested election of directors. The Board’s Tenure and Resignation Policy requires that any director nominee who is then serving as a director must tender his or her resignation if he or she fails to receive this majority vote. The Nomination and Governance Committee of the Board would then consider the resignation offer and recommend to the Board whether to accept or reject the resignation, or whether other action should be taken. The Board would take action on the Committee’s recommendation within 90 days following certification of the vote, and promptly thereafter publicly disclose its decision and the reasons therefor.

Linde’s Constitution provides that a shareholder, or a group of up to 20 shareholders, who have owned at least 3% of the Company’s outstanding ordinary shares continually for at least three years, may nominate persons for election as directors and have these

nominees included in the Company’s proxy statement. The shareholders or group must meet the requirements in the Company’s Constitution. The number of nominees is generally limited to the greater of two persons or 20% of the number of directors serving on the Board.

The Company does not have a Shareholder Protection Rights Agreement (sometimes referred to as a “Poison Pill”). Irish law does not expressly prohibit companies from issuing share purchase rights or adopting a shareholder rights plan as an anti-takeover measure. However, there is no directly relevant case law on the validity of such plans under Irish law, and shareholder approval may be required under Irish law to implement such a plan. As Linde plc is an Irish public company with securities admitted to trading on the Nasdaq Stock

Market, it is subject to the Irish Takeover Panel Act, 1997 Takeover Rules 2022, which govern certain aspects of the manner in which a takeover offer can be made for shares in Linde plc. If an offer has been made or is deemed to be imminent, Linde plc is prevented from engaging in frustrating action. The adoption of a shareholder rights agreement would constitute frustrating action, meaning that it could only be adopted on a “clear day” where no such offer is anticipated.

Irish law currently provides that shareholders holding 10% or more of the total voting rights may request that the directors call an extraordinary general meeting at any time. The shareholders who wish to request an extraordinary general meeting must deliver to Linde’s principal executive office a written notice, signed by the shareholders requesting the meeting and stating the purposes of the meeting. If the directors do not, within 21 days of the date of delivery of the request, proceed to convene a meeting to be held within two months of that

date, those shareholders (or any of them representing more than half of the total voting rights of all of them) may themselves convene a meeting, but any meeting so convened cannot be held after the expiration of three months from the date of delivery of the request. These provisions of Irish law are in addition to, and separate from, the requirements that a shareholder must meet in order to have a proposal included in the proxy statement under the rules of the SEC.

The Board’s policy is that non-management directors must acquire and hold the Company’s ordinary shares equal in value to at least five times the annual base compensation retainer awarded in the form of equity or equity-based awards. Directors have five years from

their initial election to meet this guideline. All non-management directors have met this guideline or are within the five-year transition period afforded to them to do so. See the section titled “Information on Share Ownership” in this Proxy Statement.

The Board believes that it is important for executive officers to acquire a substantial ownership position in Linde. In this way, their interests are more closely aligned with those of shareholders. Significant stock ownership ensures that executives manage Linde as equity owners.

Accordingly, a stock ownership and shareholding policy has been established for the Company’s executive officers that requires them to own a minimum number of ordinary shares equal or greater in value to a multiple of their base salary, as set forth below. Individuals must meet the applicable ownership level within five years after first becoming subject to the guidelines by acquiring at least 20% of the required level of stock ownership each year. Until the stock ownership requirement is met, executive officers (i) may not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of their Linde ordinary shares and (ii) must retain and hold all Linde ordinary shares acquired from all equity incentive awards, net of shares withheld for taxes and option exercise prices, including performance share unit awards, restricted stock unit awards and stock options.

Set forth below is the stock ownership required by the policy expressed as a multiple of base salary for eachexecutive officer position. As of the date of this Proxy Statement, all covered individuals are in compliance with this policy. Stock ownership of the Named Executive Officers can be found in the table presented under the section titled “Information on Share Ownership.”

Hedging, Pledging and Similar Transactions Prohibited.

The purpose of the Director and Executive Stock Ownership Policies is to ensure that directors and executive leaders will have a meaningful ownership stake in Linde so that their interests will be aligned with shareholder interests. Any investment activities intended to reduce or eliminate the economic risk that ordinarily accompanies such ownership would defeat this purpose. Therefore, directors and executive leaders may not engage in hedging transactions related to Linde’s stock that would have the effect of reducing the economic risk of their holding Linde stock. This prohibition applies to

any Linde stock that a director or executive leader beneficially owns, regardless of whether he/she has fulfilled all or any part of the total stock ownership requirement as set forth above. For example, a director or executive leader may not purchase a “put option” on Linde stock or on certain derivative market instruments of which Linde is a significant component (more than 5%).

Directors and executive leaders also may not pledge or otherwise encumber Linde stock that they own.

The Company’s Code of Business Integrity (“Ethics Policy”) prohibits employees, officers and Board members from having a personal, financial or family interest that could in any way prevent the individual from acting in the best interests of the Company (a “conflict of interest”) and provides that any conflict of interest waiver relating to Board members or executive officers may be made only after review and approval by the Board upon the recommendation of its Audit Committee. In addition, the Board’s Corporate Governance Guidelines require that any “related party transaction” by an executive officer or director be pre-approved by a committee of independent and disinterested directors. For this purpose, a “related party transaction” means any transaction or relationship that is reportable under Regulation S-K, Item 404, of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or that, in the case of a non-management director, would violate the Board’s independence standards.

Reporting and review procedures. To implement the foregoing policies, the Audit Committee has adopted a written procedure for the Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests which specifies a process for the referral of potential conflicts of interests to the Board and standards for the Board’s evaluation of those matters. This policy applies to any transaction or relationship involving an executive officer, a member of the Board of Directors, a nominee for election as a director of the Company, or a family member of any of the foregoing which (1) could violate the Company’s Ethics Policy provisions regarding conflicts of interest, (2) would be reportable under the

SEC’s disclosure rules, or (3) in the case of a non-management director, would violate the Board’s independence standards.

Under this procedure, potential conflicts of interest are reported to the Company Secretary for preliminary analysis to determine whether referral to the Audit Committee is appropriate. Potential conflicts of interest can be self-identified by the director or executive officer or may arise from internal audits, the integrity hotline or other referrals, or through periodic due diligence conducted by the Company Secretary’s office. The Audit Committee then examines the facts and circumstances of each matter referred to it and makes a final determination as to (1) whether the transaction or relationship would (or does) constitute a violation of the conflicts of interest provisions of the Company’s Ethics Policy, and (2) whether the transaction or relationship should be approved or ratified and the conditions, if any, of such approval or ratification. In determining whether a transaction or relationship constitutes a violation of the conflicts of interest provisions of the Company’s Ethics Policy, the Audit Committee considers, among other factors, the materiality of the transaction or relationship to the individual’s personal interest, whether the individual’s personal interest is materially adverse to or

competitive with the interests of the Company, and whether the transaction or relationship materially interferes with the proper performance of the individual’s duties or loyalty to the Company. In determining whether to approve or ratify a transaction or relationship, the Audit Committee considers, among other factors, whether the matter would constitute a violation of the conflicts of interest provisions of the Company’s Ethics Policy, whether the matter would violate the Nasdaq listing standards, the expected practical impact of the transaction or relationship on the individual’s independence of judgment or ability to act in the best interests of the Company, the availability, practicality and effectiveness of mitigating controls or safeguards such as recusal, restricted access to information, reassignment etc., and the best interests of the Company and its shareholders generally.

Application of Policies & Procedures. During 2025, no actual or potential conflicts of interest were identified with respect to the executive officers and directors of the Company.

When determining whether any director or nominee is independent, the Board considers all facts and circumstances and any relationships that a director or nominee may have with the Company, directly or indirectly, other than in the capacity of serving as a director. To assist the Board in making independence determinations, it also applies the independence standards which are posted at Linde’s public website, www.linde.com in the About Us/Corporate Governance section. In February 2026, the Board considered the following circumstances and relationships of those directors and nominees who then had any direct or indirect relationship with the Company.

In the ordinary course of its business, Linde sells industrial gases to, and purchases certain goods or services from, E. ON SE, of which Dr. Victoria Ossadnik is an executive officer. The 2025 consolidated revenues for each of Linde and E.ON SE were $34.0 billion and €78.7 billion, respectively. For the 2023, 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, the dollar value of Linde’s sales to, or purchases from, E.ON SE were $0.7 million, $0.4 million and $0.2 million in sales, respectively and $1.0 million, $0.9 million and $1.2 million of purchases, respectively. Such sale and purchase transactions were well below the limits set forth in the Board’s independence standards and were significantly less than 1% of the consolidated revenues of Linde or E.ON SE. Therefore, the Board has determined that such ordinary course business relationships are not material and do not otherwise impair the ability of Dr. Ossadnik to exercise independent judgment as a director.

Insider Trading Policy and Procedures

Linde has adopted an insider trading policy and has additional trading procedures that cover the purchase, sale and other transactions in Company securities by the Company’s directors, officers, and employees, and other covered persons, as well as the Company itself. Linde believes these are reasonably designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations and applicable exchange listing standards. A copy of our insider trading policy was filed as Exhibit 19 to our Annual Report on Form10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025.

Based solely upon a review of SEC Forms 3, 4 and 5 furnished to the Company and written representations from the Company’s executive officers and directors, the

Company believes that those persons complied with all Section 16(a) filing requirements during 2025 with respect to transactions in the Company’s stock.

The Nomination and Governance Committee will consider any candidate for election to the Board who is timely recommended by a shareholder and whose recommendation otherwise complies with the requirements under Linde’s Constitution. Recommendations should be sent to the Company Secretary of Linde and should include the candidate’s name and qualifications and a statement from the candidate that he or she consents to being named in the proxy statement and will serve as a director if elected. In order for any candidate to be considered by the Nomination and Governance Committee and, if nominated, to be included in the proxy statement, such recommendations must be received by the Company Secretary on or before the date specified in this Proxy Statement under the caption “Shareholder Proposals, Director Nominations and Other Business for the 2027 Annual General Meeting.”

The qualities and skills sought in director nominees are governed by the projected needs of the Board at the time the Nomination and Governance Committee considers adding a new director or renominating incumbent directors. Consistent with the board’s corporate Governance Guidelines, the Committee seeks to build and maintain a Board that contains a range of experiences, competencies, and perspectives that is well-suited for advice and counsel to, and oversight of, the Company’s business and operations. In doing so, the Committee takes into account a variety of factors, including: (1) the Company’s strategies and its market, geographic and regulatory environments, both current and projected, (2) the mix of experiences, competencies, and perspectives (including gender, ethnic and cultural diversity) currently represented on the Board, (3) the results of the Board’s annual self-assessment process, (4) the CEO’s views as to areas in which management would like to have additional advice and counsel from the Board, and (5) with respect to the incumbent directors, meeting attendance, participation and contribution, and the director’s current independence status.

The Committee also seeks in each director candidate a breadth of experience and background that (a) will allow the director to contribute to the full range of issues confronting a global industrial company and (b) will qualify the director to serve on, and contribute to, any of the Board’s standing committees. In addition, the Nomination and Governance Committee believes that every director nominee should demonstrate a strong record of integrity and ethical conduct, an absence of conflicts that might interfere with the exercise of his or her independent judgment, and a willingness and ability to represent all shareholders of the Company.

When the need to recruit a director arises, the Nomination and Governance Committee will consult the Chairman & CEO and other directors, and may engage third party recruiting firms to identify potential candidates. The candidate evaluation process may include inquiries as to the candidate’s reputation and background, examination of the candidate’s experiences and skills in relation to the Board’s needs at the time, consideration of the candidate’s independence as measured by the Board’s independence standards, and other considerations that the Nomination and Governance Committee deems appropriate at the time. Prior to formal consideration by the Nomination and Governance Committee, any candidate who passes such screening would be interviewed by the Nomination and Governance Committee or its Chairman and by the Chairman of the Board & CEO.

Additional information about the specific skills, qualifications and backgrounds of each of the director nominees is set forth in this Proxy Statement under the caption “Director Nominees.”

Proxy Access Nominees. The foregoing description applies only to the Nomination and Governance Committee’s consideration of director nominees who may be nominated by the Committee itself. It does not apply to persons nominated by eligible shareholders under the Company’s Proxy Access structure which has separate requirements that are set forth in Linde’s Constitution.

Delegation and CEO Involvement. Except under limited circumstances, the Human Capital Committee may not delegate its executive compensation authority to any other persons. With respect to the allocation of compensation and awards to employees other than the executive officers, the Human Capital Committee may, and has, delegated authority to the CEO, subject to guidelines established by the Human Capital Committee. The CEO does not determine the compensation of any of the executive officers, but he does offer for the Human Capital Committee’s consideration his views on relevant matters, as described in more detail in this Proxy Statement in the CD&A section.

Compensation Risk Analysis. The Human Capital Committee considers whether the Company’s compensation policies and practices create incentives for risk-taking that could have a material adverse effect on the Company. Each year, the Human Capital Committee examines management’s review of the Company’s incentive compensation programs applicable to all employees, including executive officers, in order to

evaluate whether they encourage excessive risk-taking through either the design of the executive and management incentive programs, or operational decision-making that could affect compensation payouts. The Human Capital Committee determines if (1) there exists sufficient operational controls, checks and balances that prevent or constrain compensation-driven decision-making that is inappropriate or excessively risky including, among others, frequent risk discussions with the Board, particularly in connection with capital project or acquisition proposals, (2) the Company uses highly leveraged short-term incentives that would tend to drive high short-term risk decisions or unsustainable gains, and (3) the Company’s executive stock ownership policy and the “clawback” policy described in the CD&A also serve as disincentives for unacceptable risk-taking.

A more detailed description of how the Human Capital Committee considers and determines executive compensation is described in this Proxy Statement in the CD&A section.

Director Compensation Program

The Board adopted its Director Compensation Program based in part on an extensive director compensation study and analysis performed by F. W. Cook, a recognized expert compensation consultant. This report included data, analysis and advice, a report on director compensation trends and benchmarking of director compensation against groups of large U.S. and European public companies.

The Company paid the amounts reported in the 2025 Director Compensation table below pursuant to its Director Compensation Program in effect for 2025. The Company does not pay any director who is a Company employee (Mr. Lamba in 2025) for serving as a member of the Board of Directors or any committee of the Board of Directors. The Nomination and Governance Committee of the Board determines non-management director compensation consistent with the Directors’ Compensation principles set forth in the Corporate Governance Guidelines. The Director Compensation Program in effect for 2025 is as described below, but was amended effective February 1, 2026, for 2026 compensation as described below.

The annual base retainer compensation was $750,000 for the Chairman of the Board, and $340,000 for all other non-employee directors, 40% of which was payable in cash and 60% of which was in the form of an equity stock compensation grant.

Cash Compensation

Cash compensation comprises 40% of the entire annual Board base retainer compensation, as follows:

In addition to the base cash retainer, committee Chairs and the Lead Independent Director receive the following additional cash compensation:

Committee, the Nomination and Governance

Committee and the Sustainability Committee

Equity Compensation

In addition to the cash compensation set forth above, each non-management Director receives an annual equity stock compensation grant equal to 60% of the value of the entire annual Board base retainer compensation. In 2025, an equity grant valued at $450,000 was made to the Chairman of the Board, and an equity grant valued at $204,000 was made to each other director for their services in 2025.

The Nomination and Governance Committee selected restricted stock units as the sole form of equity for the 2025 grant. The restricted stock units are fully vested (non-forfeitable) after one-year from the date of grant, but a prorated portion will be paid out if a director’s service on the Board terminates before the one year anniversary of the grant unless the director is removed by the shareholders or is removed for cause, in which case the grant will be forfeited. Restricted stock units will be paid out as soon as practicable after the vesting in Linde plc ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis unless the payout has been deferred (See “Director Deferred Compensation” below).

The number of restricted stock units granted to deliver the $450,000 and $204,000 values, respectively, as of the March 7, 2025 grant date was based upon the average of the closing prices of the Company’s Ordinary Shares for the 60 trading days before and including February 14, 2025. Because the closing price of the Company’s Ordinary Shares on March 7, 2025 was higher than this 60-day average, the full grant date fair market value of the restricted stock units granted on March 7, 2025 and reported in the 2025 Director Compensation Table below was $479,552 for the Chairman of the Board, and $217,509 for each other director who received an equity grant.

Expenses

The Company pays or reimburses directors for travel, lodging and related expenses incurred in connection with attending board and committee meetings, the Annual General Meeting and other Company business-related

events (including the expenses related to the attendance of spouses if they are specifically invited for appropriate business purposes) and may provide use of Company chartered aircraft. From time to time, the Company may reimburse a director’s expenses for his or her

participation in third party-supplied continuing education related to the director’s board or committee service.

Director Deferred Compensation

Pursuant to the Linde plc Non-Employee Director Deferral Program (“Program), non-employee directors may elect to defer to a later date, payment of some or all of the cash fees that may be earned in the upcoming year. A director chooses this deferred payment date when making a deferral election. Any deferred cash fees are converted into Linde deferred stock units ("DSUs") granted under the Linde plc 2021 Long Term Incentive Plan (“Equity Incentive Plan”), with each DSU representing the right to receive one Ordinary Share of Linde plc at the end of the deferral period. No other phantom investment options are available for deferred cash fees.

In addition, non-employee directors may elect to defer the payout of the annual director restricted stock unit (“RSU”) equity grant to a date later than the payout date that would otherwise occur after the RSU vests one year after the grant date. DSUs and RSUs are also credited with additional stock units whenever dividends are paid on the Company’s Ordinary Shares. Dividends are credited at the same rate as they are paid to all shareholders. Stock units provide directors the economic equivalent of owning the Company’s Ordinary Shares, except that the units may not be transferred or sold, and they do not provide any voting or other shareholder rights. DSUs and deferred RSUs are paid out solely in Company Ordinary Shares on the selected deferral payout dates.

2026 Director Compensation Program Amendment

In October 2025, the Nomination and Governance Committee reviewed and considered the Director Compensation Program in light of Board leadership changes.The Board amended the Director Compensation Program effective February 1, 2026 to: (1) terminate the separate compensation of the Chairman of the Board as CEO Sanjiv Lamba was appointed Chairman of the Board effective January 31, 2026, and (2) increase the annual cash retainer paid to the Lead Independent Director by $5,000 from $45,000 to $50,000. The additional cash compensation of the committee Chairs did not change.

Nine persons have been nominated for election to the Board to serve for a one-year term concluding on the later of (a) the 2027 annual general meeting of shareholders and (b) the election and qualification of his or her successor. The Nomination and Governance Committee has nominated each current director of the Board for reelection at the Annual General Meeting. The Nomination and Governance Committee believes that each director nominee has an established record of accomplishment in areas relevant to Linde’s business and objectives and possesses the characteristics identified in Linde’s Corporate Governance Guidelines as essential to a well-functioning and deliberative governing body, including integrity, independence and commitment.

Each of the director nominees listed below has experience as a senior executive of a public company or comparable business organization. Each nominee also is serving or has served as a director of one or more public companies and on a variety of board committees. As such, each has executive management and director oversight experience in most, if not all, of the following areas which are critical to the conduct of the Company’s business, including: strategy development and implementation, risk assessment and management, financial accounting and reporting, internal controls, corporate finance, capital project evaluation, the evaluation, compensation, motivation and retention of senior executive talent, public policies as they affect global industrial corporations, compliance, corporate governance, productivity management, safety management, project management, sustainable development and, in most cases, global operations. Many of the nominees also bring particular insights into specific end-markets and foreign markets that are important to the Company. These nominees collectively provide a range of perspectives, experiences and competencies well-suited to providing advice and counsel to management and to overseeing the Company’s business and operations. In addition to these qualifications that are shared by all of the nominees, more specific information about each of their individual experience and qualifications is included below.

The following pages include information about those persons currently serving on Linde’s Board of Directors who have been nominated for reelection to serve for a one-year term concluding on the later of (a) the 2027 annual general meeting of shareholders or (b) the election and qualification of his or her successor. The graph below shows the number of directors who have certain of the skills, qualifications and experience in key areas that are important for the Board’s oversight of the Company’s business.