BP Increases Oil and Gas Investments, Drops Renewable Targets

British rival Shell and other major oil companies have also cut back on clean energy pledges in recent months.

—

BP will cut its renewable energy investments and instead focus on increasing oil and gas production.

The British multinational announced its plans on Wednesday, describing it as a “strategic reset” as it looks to boost performance and reduce net debt. As part of the new strategy, the company will grow oil and gas investment by about 20% to $10 billion per year and production between 2.3 million and 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2030. 

Funding for the energy transition – including renewables, hydrogen, biogas, biofuels, electric vehicle charging, and carbon capture and storage – will be instead cut by more than $5 billion to $1.5-2 billion yearly.

BP’s carbon-cutting target had stood out as one of the industry’s most ambitious when it was announced in 2020. But this week, BP’s Chief Executive Murray Auchincloss said the company had gone “too far, too fast” in transitioning away from fossil fuels, and that its faith in green energy was “misplaced,” the BBC reported.

The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the single-largest source of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the primary drivers of global warming by trapping heat in the atmosphere and raising Earth’s surface temperature. Global fossil fuel consumption has more than doubled in the last 50 years, as countries around the world aim to improve their standards of living and economic output. In 2023, all three of the most potent GHGs – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide – reached record highs.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged countries to halt new gas and oil field projects, arguing that this is the only way to keep the 1.5C-compatible net-zero emissions scenario alive.

Mass Exodus

Rivals TotalEnergies and Equinor recently also scaled back low-carbon energy investment plans, while Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron all committed to increasing fossil fuel production.

The mass exodus comes as the Trump administration’s “drill, baby drill” agenda is in full swing. In his first month in office, the president has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement and other climate commitments, and has declared a “national energy emergency” that would allow him to reverse many of the Biden-era environmental regulations and open up more areas to oil and gas exploration. The country is currently already producing more oil than any other country at any other time.

But energy companies are not alone.

The six biggest banks in the world’s largest economy – Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Citi Bank, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan – as well as Canada’s six biggest banks, all dropped out of the industry’s largest climate alliance in recent months. While all banks insisted their decision would not impact their decarbonization pledges, analysist say it sends a clear signal to the market that climate change has become even less of a priority for Wall Street.

BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management corporation, last December withdrew from the Net-Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, a key international group of asset managers committed to reaching net-zero emissions. The New York-based firm, which manages assets worth some $11.5 trillion, said the decision to leave was prompted by pressure from public officials and Republican-led legal inquiries.

The New York-based firm has long been at the center of attacks from conservative lawmakers for embracing what they call “woke” policies. In a report published in late 2024, Republican-led House Judiciary Committee said it had found “evidence of collusion” between “left-wing activists and major financial institutions” to “impose radical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals on American companies.”

Following Blackrock’s departure, the alliance – a voluntary initiative – said it was “disappointed” but respected “any individual decisions signatories take.” It later announced it was suspending activities to “track signatory implementation and reporting” to undergo an internal review, citing “recent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”

More on the topic: Meet Trump’s Anti-Climate Cabinet

Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.