Change of course meets with criticism: BP is once again focusing more on oil and gas

In 2020, the British oil company announced that it would reduce oil and gas production by 40 percent in favor of renewable energies by 2030. There is not much left of that - on the contrary. The company is massively cutting spending on renewable energies.

The British oil company BP is reducing its spending on renewable energy and is once again focusing more on the production of fossil fuels. Investments in the oil and gas industry are to be increased by 20 percent to 7.9 billion pounds per year, the company announced.

BP 425.55

Spending on renewable energy is to be reduced by more than £3.9 billion to as little as £1.6 billion a year. BP CEO Murray Auchincloss told the PA news agency that the company is concentrating on the most profitable business areas and is investing very selectively in the energy transition.

The plans, which were announced in advance, had been criticized by environmental groups and some shareholders. "This is clear evidence that fossil fuel companies cannot or will not be part of the solutions to the climate crisis; that discussion is over," Greenpeace said. The response to the climate crisis must not be determined by the whims of investors or the markets.

In 2020 - still under different management - the group had set the goal of reducing oil and gas production by 40 percent in favor of renewable energies by 2030. At the beginning of 2023, the target was initially revised to 25 percent.

Last year, BP made significantly less profit at £7.2 billion than in 2023 (£10.9 billion). Most recently, the US hedge fund Elliott Management acquired a stake of just under five percent in BP.

According to media reports, the investor is pushing for more investment in oil and gas again. This is in line with the policy of US President Donald Trump. BP's competitor Shell recently took a similar strategic step, significantly reducing investments in offshore wind power plants, among other things.