Mr. Dudley
plans to step
down as the BP
chief executive
in February 2020.
Before leaving,
he has accused
activists and
politicians of
oversimplifying
energy issues.
He says fossil fuels
will remain essential
for at least two
more decades.
Dudley hates
“to see young people
so unhappy, so anxious”
about fossil fuels.
His daughter,
a social worker
in California,
has even
questioned
his career
choice.
BP says,
at the current rate
of change, oil, gas
and coal would still
account for 73%
of energy consumed
by 2040.
Even under
a “rapid transition”,
envisioned under
the 2015 Paris
climate agreement,
that's NOT
happening,
fossil fuels
would account
for an estimated
56% of energy
consumed
by 2040.
BP has invested
in biofuels and
solar power, but
only 3% of its annual
investment budget
is for renewables.
Dudley said:
“There will be
2 billion more people,
roughly, on the planet
by 2040
and we’ll need
a third more energy,
which is like saying
we’re going to need
another China and US
in terms of scale.
Today, renewables are
4% of primary demand
around the world.
People have simplified
this incredibly complex
thing far too much.
There’s a lot of people
who just think,
‘Stop using fossil fuels
and put renewables
everywhere.’
You will not even
come close to that."
The 64-year-old
CEO also said:
“The epicenter
of climate change,
really, is there’s
a coal-fired
power plant
starting up
every week
in eight countries
in Asia,
so the perspective
here, and in the US,
is completely different
to in Asia, because
they need to raise
living standards
for a large,
growing
population.
I believe
the world
cannot have
any chance
of reaching
the goals
of Paris without
natural gas
displacing coal.
Natural gas
is a potent
greenhouse gas,
but if it doesn’t leak,
and you burn it right,
it has half the carbon
dioxide emissions
of coal.”
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