Big Oil’s role in curbing climate change

Tackling climate change requires a dramatic, and rapid, shift towards cleaner energy. With each year that global greenhouse gas emissions reach another record, the impacts of a warming planet intensify. And the only way to achieve a rapid and just transition to a low-carbon world is with the help of the fossil fuel industry. It might seem ironic that the sector most responsible for the emissions driving climate change must also be part of the solution. But the fact is, the world needs energy. Big Oil has the technical expertise and, thanks to the energy crisis, the cash to help fund the shift.

But there’s a problem. While claiming to help drive the switch, the oil and gas sector is planning huge investments to expand production – and emissions. A better bet is to use that investment money to hasten the inevitable green energy transition. The oil and gas sector has rightly copped a lot of flak for deception – saying one thing and doing another. It is little wonder there is a lack of trust in the pronouncements of fossil fuel companies, with climate activists accusing them of trying to stall climate action on the premise that the world will need fossil fuels for decades to come.  But as the United Nations’ top climate science panel and the International Energy Agency have made clear, there can be no more new fossil fuel investments. Anything additional will fuel the climate crisis that is already affecting billions of people.