Oil major quits API because of climate positions
French oil major Total will leave the largest U.S. oil and gas trade association over “certain divergences” in approaches to address climate change.
Total on Friday said it will not renew its membership with the American Petroleum Institute after its annual membership review found that API’s positions on climate change were only “partially aligned” with that of the company.
The French oil and gas company, which has a significant presence in Houston, said it disagreed with API’s support of rolling back U.S. regulation on methane emissions, its opposition to electric vehicle subsidies and carbon pricing, and its endorsement of political candidates who argued against the U.S. participation in the Paris climate agreement.
Total “acknowledges the API's considerable contribution, for over a century, to the development of our industry,” CEO Patrick Pouyanné said in a statement. “Nevertheless, as part of our Cli
mate Ambition made public in May 2020, we are committed to ensuring, in a transparent manner, that the industry associations of which we are a member adopt positions and messages that are aligned with those of the (company) in the fight against climate change.”
API and the U.S. oil and gas industry face mounting pressure from their European members and counterparts, which have moved aggressively over the past year to address climate change.
API President Mike Sommers in a speech Wednesday criticized U.S. government efforts to accelerate the energy transition away from fossil fuels, even as he called climate change “the most important issue of our time.”
API on Friday thanked Total for its membership, but pushed back against the company’s position. API said the trade group doesn’t support subsidizing clean energy because it “distorts the market and ultimately proves harmful to consumers.”
“We believe that the world’s energy and environmental challenges are large enough that many different approaches are necessary to solve them and we benefit from a diversity of views,” API said in a statement Friday. “Our focus continues to be on taking meaningful action and shaping policy to reduce emissions and ensure access to affordable, reliable energy.”
Total’s decision to leave API comes a day after it announced a deal with South Korean solar company 174 Power Global to develop a dozen solar farms in the United States, five in Texas. The joint venture is part of Total’s push to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and generate 40 percent of its sales from renewable power by 2050.
Total generates around 7 gigawatts of power from renewable energy, enough to power 2.1 million homes. By 2025, the company plans to increase its renewable power generation five-fold to 35 gigawatts, enough to power 10.5 million homes.
Total’s European rival BP said on Friday that it is monitoring its membership in trade associations, particularly those it views as being only “partially aligned” with the company on climate-related issues. The British oil major has also moved quickly to prepare for a lower-carbon future by investing heavily in wind and solar power.
BP said it remains committed to trying to influence those associations from within and will give an update on its memberships midyear.
“BP’s ambition is to reach netzero by 2050 or sooner and to help the world get there,” BP said in a statement after Total’s announcement Friday. “We will continue to advocate for progressive policies that advance this agenda in trade associations.”