European oil companies address climate change
OUTSIDE THE BOARDROOM
Total, BP intend to lead on cutting carbon; Exxon Mobil digs in heels
No fewer than three U.S. oil executives attending IHS Energy CERAWeek have said government regulations need to be based on science, not public sentiment. Yet not one of them talked about the scientific consensus acknowledging global climate change.
In contrast, the CEOs of BP Plc, Statoil and Total SA all called on the energy industry to recognize the reality of climage change and said they intend to lead the way in reducing the amount of carbon humans are pumping into the atmosphere every day.
“Climate change is a fact, we have to accept that. But we can also be part of the solution,” said Patrick Pouyanne, CEO and president of Total. His company is developing solar power in California.
Statoil president and CEO Elder Saertre said his company fully supports U.N. efforts to limit global warming. Statoil is leading an international effort to reduce methane emissions.
“Our industry is still perceived as part of the problem and not seen as wanting to be part of the solution,” he said. “Statoil acknowledges the scientific consensus on human-induced climate change.”
BP’s CEO Bob Dudley said he’s working with European oil companies to develop a united response that includes focusing on reducing carbon emissions and offering alternative forms of energy.
Meanwhile, none of the leaders of U.S. oil companies had much to say on the topic. Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson said his company has determined that 80 percent of world’s energy will come from fossil fuels over the next 40 years and his company was focused on supplying them.
The closest Tillerson came to endorsing action on climate change was calling for the freedom to export more natural gas to Asia, noting it emits less greenhouse gas when burned for electricity. Otherwise, he said, federal regulations designed to slow climate change were stifling his company’s progress.
Living in Texas, where acknowledging climate change is considered heresy, it’s easy to forget that the rest of the world, and indeed the rest of the nation, recognizes that wishful thinking will not stop the global climate from worsening.
The executives of international oil companies, based in Houston, certainly recognize the facts; they deal with wiser leaders in Europe and Asia on a regular basis. Yet because it is politically inconvenient, they shrink from taking the courageous step of leading the nation in fighting climate change.
That’s a shame, because in addition to powering the world, U.S. oil executives could play a part in saving it. Their European colleagues are setting the example.