BP splits from lobby groups on policy gaps

LONDON—BP Plc will leave three U.S. oil-industry lobby groups due to differences on climate policy, after the company’s new chief pledged to eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The decision, which follows similar moves by Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Total SA, seeks to address a contradiction at the heart of many oil companies’ climate pledges, which sometimes ran contrary to the political lobbying of industry groups of which they were members.

The company will withdraw from the Western Energy Alliance due to differences over the regulation of methane emissions, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

It will also quit the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), which don’t agree with BP on carbon pricing. This month, BP set out the boldest climate plan of any major oil company, pledging to eliminate almost all of the carbon emissions from its operations and the fuel it sells to customers.

While BP chief executive officer, Bernard Looney, said he didn’t quite know how to achieve this goal, he highlighted a reappraisal of lobbying as one of the first steps in the process.

AFPM’s president and chief executive officer, Chet Thompson, said that the group was disappointed with BP’s decision despite the group’s commitment to climate change policies.

WSPA president, Catherine Reheis-Boyd, said the group would continue to work with BP and stakeholders “to engage in a civil public discourse around creating a sustainable energy future.”