ARE you one of the brave and bold? Do you put your hand up first when volunteers are required or are you the reluctant participant that goes along with the rest so as not to get left behind?
The oil giant BP seems to have taken a brave and bold pill as far as the climate is concerned. For decades, the firm has been pumping crude oil, or dinosaur juice as I call it, from all over the world to feed our voracious appetite for petrol and diesel.
Many of its number have become extremely wealthy but few had the necessary conscience to reposition the company to address the climate damage that their business causes.
Enter the new CEO, Bernard Looney. He may be Looney by name but he is smart by nature. BP has announced an “ambition” to become a net-zero emissions company by 2050 or sooner, the first of the majors to make such a pledge. This is welcome news indeed.
Obviously, every man, woman and dog are making commitments to be better for the climate but what might this mean for one of the biggest names on our roads?
BP is establishing a new “Gas and Low Carbon Energy” unit that will pursue opportunities in decarbonisation and new value chains such as hydrogen and carbon capture.
Mr Looney said: “We all want energy that is reliable and affordable, but that is no longer enough. It must also be cleaner. To deliver that, trillions of dollars will need to be invested in replumbing and rewiring the world’s energy system. It will require nothing short of reimagining energy as we know it.
“This will certainly be a challenge, but also a tremendous opportunity. It is clear to me, and to our stakeholders, that for BP to play our part and serve our purpose, we have to change. And we want to change – this is the right thing for the world and for BP.”
I am heartened by the words from BP and hope that other major suppliers of petrol and diesel make similar commitments to a cleaner road system backed up with real investment. Time will tell.
