Yes, but: Alternative energy is only a very small part of their business.
What they say:
- Eldar Saetre, CEO of Equinor in a speech, the sector is facing a "crisis of confidence" and a "lack of confidence" that "will increasingly reduce our ability to influence and shape our own future". "It's actually a real threat to our operating license, unless we deal with it proactively and collectively," he added.
- Bob Dudley, CEO of BP should make a speech tonight that will "ask the industry to do more to meet new demands for action for climate, even if energy consumption continues to increase", according to the Wall Street Journal.
On the other side: This sentiment contrasts with the activism shown by youth-led movements in Europe and the Democratic primaries in the United States.
- Motivated by scientific reports showing the urgency of drastic cuts in emissions to avoid rapid warming, they argue that the time for incrementalism has long passed.
- In the United States, this is evident in the prominence of the Green New Deal Green Left, which has attracted the support of several major Democratic presidential candidates.
- Everything is very different from the Houston gestalt, where the discussion focuses on the evolution of business models that still rely on huge investments in oil and gas for decades.
L & # 39; plot: Several moments were marked by the division between the conference and energy on the left.
- For example, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the Democratic legislator who spoke at the conference. He is a coal advocate and one of the most conservative members of his party.
I chatted with Maarten Wetselaar, senior executive of Shell, is whether they will increase until 2020 the billion to 2 billion dollars per year invested until 2020 in the efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
- Shell was among the majors, but it was a reminder that the industry was seeing the transition unfold their terms.
- "We are hoping to increase it – that's the basic plan – but we have to prove to ourselves and our shareholders that it is commercially attractive enough to do it." ", did he declare.
The bottom line: I asked the former Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, what was the content of the conference in relation to the situation on the left.
- "There is not a discussion about the urgency of the carbon transition, on the other hand solutions are sometimes proposed that … are not practical, and in my opinion, this is n & # 39; It does not help to move the conversation forward, "said Moniz. I said.
My thought bubble: Despite the chasm between activists and industry, the two groups stand out clearly from President Trump on climate change. A tweet this morning once again, Trump's rejection of the scientific consensus on man-made warming.
Go further: Geopolitics and oil collide
