Top 250 oil and gas firms own just 1.5% of the world’s renewable power
Oil companies invest little in wind farms
Associated Press/Alamy
Major oil and gas companies own less than 1.5% of global renewable energy capacity, raising questions about their commitment to the green energy transition, despite their public claims.
Marcel Llavero Pasquina and Antonio Bontempi of the Autonomous University of Barcelona examined the ownership records of more than 53,000 wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal projects around the world, tracked by Global Energy Monitor, a non-governmental organization. They then cross-referenced these figures to see what proportion of them belonged to the world’s 250 largest oil and gas companies, which are collectively responsible for 88 percent of global hydrocarbon production.
Many fossil fuel companies have committed to investing in renewable energy sources as the world attempts to move away from oil and gas, but researchers found that the largest companies hold just 1.42% of the world’s total operating renewable capacity. More than half of this amount – around 54 percent – was held through acquisitions, rather than by companies developing their own projects. By calculating the total energy production of the 250 companies, the two men found that renewable energy represents only 0.13 percent of the energy produced by these companies.
“The results were surprising, even to me,” says Llavero Pasquina. “I knew they were playing a very small role in the energy transition. I knew it was just for show. It was just to dress up their story. But I didn’t expect such a low number.”
Llavero Pasquina and Bontempi are both part of a group called Environmental Justice, which aims to produce research to “study and contribute to the global movement for environmental justice.” Llavero Pasquina says his campaign position strengthens his research. “You have the greatest interest in being as rigorous as possible, because you have to convince and show what is true.”
It is not surprising that large energy companies, which have built their reputations and fortunes through oil and gas exploitation, are not major players in renewable energy, says Thierry Bros, of Sciences Po in Paris. “At the end of the day, [the energy transition] has to be something disruptive, and it won’t be in the hands of these companies.
However, Bros believes that big energy companies are unduly promoting their work on the energy transition. “They introduce themselves [as] “They are doing something, but I think if they were to do something it would be more carbon capture and sequestration,” he says, which involves capturing carbon when it is emitted, for example when burning fossil fuels. “They don’t do much because I think it’s completely outside their area of expertise.”
Offshore Energies UK, an industry body which represents the UK’s offshore energy sector, including oil, gas, wind, carbon capture and hydrogen, declined to comment directly on the study’s findings. However, he highlighted an earlier statement from its chief executive, David Whitehouse. “Far from being in conflict, oil and gas, wind power and emerging low-carbon technologies are part of a single integrated system. It is the skills of our people, the very people who built the North Sea, that will deliver this transition,” he said.
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