BP Exits Three U.S. Petroleum Trade Groups Over Climate Discrepancies
February 26 2020 - 8:52AM
Dow Jones News
By Maitane Sardon
BP PLC said Wednesday that it won't renew its membership in
three U.S. petroleum trade associations over misalignment with
climate-related policies.
The move comes after Chief Executive Bernard Looney announced in
early February the U.K. oil major's plan to transform into a
net-zero carbon emissions company by 2050 or earlier.
BP said it will leave the Western States Petroleum Association,
the Western Energy Alliance and the American Fuel and Petrochemical
Manufacturers, the country's main refining lobby. The AFPM has come
under fire from environmentalists for lobbying against climate
change regulation in the U.S., campaigning for the U.S. to withdraw
from the 2016 Paris Agreement and urging senators to reject the
Green New Deal last year.
"BP will pursue opportunities to work with organizations who
share our ambitious and progressive approach to the energy
transition and when differences arise we will be transparent, but
if our views cannot be reconciled, we will be prepared to part
company," Mr. Looney said.
The company said it has reviewed its membership to thirty
associations and has identified a further five with which it is
only partially aligned on climate, adding that it has communicated
these differences to them.
BP follows oil-major Royal Dutch Shell PLC, which cut ties with
the AFPM in 2019. According to research by a coalition of
nonprofits including Corporate Europe Observatory and Friends of
the Earth Europe, the five biggest oil-and-gas companies--BP,
Shell, Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp. and Total SA--and their
industry bodies spent 123 million euros ($134 million) lobbying the
European Union over climate policies between 2010 and 2018.
Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 26, 2020 08:37 ET (13:37 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
BP (NYSE:BP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
BP (NYSE:BP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024