Environment
Many fossil fuel companies have made public promises about their investments toward a greener future, yet their actual contributions to renewable energy development remain minimal.
Oil companies are making only modest investments in wind energy.
Associated Press/Alamy
Top oil and gas companies hold a mere 1.5% of global renewable energy capacity, sparking doubts about their genuine dedication to the shift towards green energy, irrespective of their public statements.
Marcel Llavero Pasquina and Antonio Bontempi from the Autonomous University of Barcelona examined the ownership data for over 53,000 renewable energy projects including wind, solar, hydroelectric, and geothermal, as recorded by Global Energy Monitor, a non-profit organization. They cross-referenced this data to identify how many of those projects are under the ownership of the world’s largest 250 oil and gas companies, which together generate 88% of global hydrocarbon production.
Despite pledges from many fossil fuel companies to broaden their renewable energy investments as the world moves away from oil and gas, these researchers found that these major firms control only 1.42% of the total operational renewable capacity worldwide, with over half—54%—of that being through acquisitions rather than originating from self-driven projects. The study concluded that renewable energy contributes a mere 0.13% to the overall energy output from these companies.
“The findings were astonishing, even to me,” remarks Llavero Pasquina. “I understood they weren’t significantly involved in the energy transition, primarily for appearances. However, this figure was unexpectedly low.”
Bontempi and Llavero Pasquina are affiliated with Environmental Justice, a collective striving to support the global environmental justice movement through research. Llavero Pasquina believes his advocacy strengthens his scholarly work. “One has the motivation to be as thorough as possible because the goal is to persuade and reveal the truth.”
The observation that major energy corporations, whose wealth stems from oil and gas extraction, are not heavily invested in renewables isn’t surprising, says Thierry Bros from Sciences Po in Paris. “Ultimately, transitions in energy must be revolutionary, and these companies won’t be the ones steering it.”
Nonetheless, Bros argues that these large companies overly emphasize their commitment to the energy transition. “They portray themselves as proactive, but if they were to take meaningful action, it would likely focus on carbon capture and storage,” he suggests, referring to the technique of sequestering carbon emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion. “They’re barely involved in this realm, as it falls beyond their expertise.”
Offshore Energies UK, an industry association for the UK’s offshore energy sector encompassing oil, gas, wind, carbon capture, and hydrogen, refrained from commenting directly on the study’s outcomes. Instead, they highlighted a previous statement from their CEO, David Whitehouse: “Rather than being in opposition, oil and gas, wind, and developing low-carbon technologies form an integrated system. The same skilled personnel who constructed the North Sea will facilitate this transition,” he stated.
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