Numerous companies announced at a prominent energy conference in March that they will invest more heavily in oil and gas, scaling back past commitments to renewables. The news has drawn criticism from environmental advocates.
What's happening?
At CERAWeek, an annual meeting focused on the energy industry held in Houston, Texas, The Guardian reported that some companies made their boldest public statements yet on pushing more money and resources toward fossil fuels.
Murray Auchincloss, chief executive officer at BP, for example, said at CERAWeek that he is "super excited" his company has kicked off an initiative that will cut $5 billion from a previously announced green strategy while increasing its annual oil and gas investments to $10 billion.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan said the company is "simplifying" its business to grow gas projects, according to The Guardian, echoing an earlier announcement that the company would pull back on renewable energy.
Conservationists have slammed the positions and questioned whether past statements of support for green, clean energy were made in good faith.
Tariq Fancy, former sustainability executive at investment firm BlackRock and current Stanford University lecturer, told the Washington Post for its coverage of the conference that "the public loses faith in the entire system when these companies say things are core commitments and values and then jettison them two years later because the political winds shift."
Why are these statements important?
The remarks at CERAWeek come on the heels of several actions from big companies that indicate they intend to prioritize dirty energy.
Late in 2024, after disappointing quarterly financial results, BP decided to cut 18 hydrogen projects, saying it would instead value initiatives that generate profits more quickly.
Shell handed out $22.5 billion in investor buybacks last year, money that environmental groups believe should have been earmarked for clean energy instead.
In its CERAWeek coverage, The Guardian reported that early in 2025, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan all said they would pull out of a "[United Nations]-sponsored group, under which members pledge to zero out emissions from their investment portfolios."
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Definitely 👍 These corporate decisions appear largely in line with an agenda set by the Trump administration, which has said it wants to increase oil drilling and reverse many of the Biden administration's climate-focused policies. (It is worth noting that plenty of environmental advocates have had and surely will continue to have policy criticisms regardless of the administration in power.)
The more oil, gas, and other dirty energy sources are burned, the more heat-trapping pollution is released into the atmosphere, driving higher temperatures and more frequent, more severe weather events, such as droughts and floods.
What can be done about this?
Oil, gas, and coal companies can be among the worst offenders when it comes to greenwashing — in which brands publicly tout their environmental credentials and initiatives while continuing to do damage.
By recognizing when companies are greenwashing, consumers can make informed decisions to support businesses that promote a more sustainable world and avoid those that only talk a big game before quickly reversing course.
Unable to attend CERAWeek "despite attempting to purchase conference tickets at costs of up to $10,500," Environmental Health News reported that advocates called for transparency.
"The conference has shut out civil society from entering and understanding the projects that are coming to harm our communities," said Yvette Arellano, founder and executive director of Fenceline Watch, an environmental justice organization local to Houston.
Consumers might desire that same transparency from the companies they patronize.
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