Protest organized by 350.org against BP’s sponsorship and colonialism at the British Museum last week (Photo credit: Hugh Warwick)
Global — BP announced today its climate plan to become a net zero company by 2050 and cut by 50% the carbon intensity (amount of GHG emissions a fuel emits) of products BP sells by 2050 or sooner. The announcement does not include plans to phase out fossil fuels, what campaigners say is essential to staying below 2 degrees. Therefore, it only means that BP will keep selling its polluting products way longer than what is compatible with the Paris Agreement targets.
Ellen Gibson, UK 350 Campaigner, commented:
“BP is one of the companies most responsible for the climate emergency. They say they want their business model to align with the Paris Agreement, but simply put: it is not possible to keep to a 2 degree warming limit – let alone 1.5 degrees – while continuing to dig up and burn fossil fuels. Unless BP commits clearly to stop searching for more oil and gas, and to keep their existing reserves in the ground, we shouldn’t take a word of their PR spin seriously.”
Yossi Cadan, Global Finance Campaign Manager, said:
“BP’s current business model is unsustainable in a low-carbon future. The plan announced today is a long way from the urgent action needed to halt climate breakdown. There is no more room for new fossil fuel development.
The lives and livelihoods of the communities on the frontlines of climate breakdown and those of future generations are in jeopardy because of companies like BP. They and other fossil fuel companies must be held accountable for the current climate crisis, and any climate related plan presented by them needs to include how to compensate those who are suffering the worst impacts of it.”
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Press contact:
Melanie Mattauch, [email protected], +49 176 4703 9315 (CET)
Nathalia Clark, [email protected], +55 61 991371229 (GMT +3)
Sources:
Carbon Majors report, 2017
Sky’s the Limit report, 2016