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BP CEO Bernard Looney photographed in Texas on March 8, 2022. During a panel discussion on Oct. 31, 2022, Looney said his firm’s strategy was to “to invest in hydrocarbons today, because today’s energy system is a hydrocarbon system.”

F. Carter Smith | Bloomberg | Getty Images

BP’s strategy is centered around investing in hydrocarbons whilst simultaneously putting money into the planned energy transition, the oil and gas supermajor’s CEO said Monday.  

“What the world needs, more than ever right now, is a conversation and a series of actions that are involved in the practicalities and realities of today and tomorrow,” Bernard Looney, who was appearing on a panel discussion moderated by CNBC’s Hadley Gamble, said.

“And by that I mean, our strategy as BP — which we’re executing in the U.K., we’re working on here in the Middle East and we’re doing it in the United States and across the world — is to invest in hydrocarbons today, because today’s energy system is a hydrocarbon system,” he added.   

Speaking at the Adipec conference in Abu Dhabi, Looney said his company was “obviously trying to produce those hydrocarbons with the lowest possible emissions” whilst at the same time investing in “accelerating the energy transition.”

“And we’re doing that in Britain, we’re doing that in the United States, we’re doing it here,” he said, namechecking carbon capture, electric vehicle charging, hydrogen and offshore wind.

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A major producer of oil and gas, BP says it’s aiming to become a net-zero company by the year 2050 or before. It’s one of many major firms to have made a net-zero pledge in recent years.

While such commitments draw attention, actually achieving them is a huge task with significant financial and logistical hurdles. The devil is in the detail and goals can often be light on the latter.

Looney’s comments on investing in hydrocarbons come at a time when high profile figures such as U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres are making their feelings on fossil fuels known.   

In June, for example, Guterres slammed new funding for fossil fuel exploration. He described it as “delusional” and called for an abandonment of fossil fuel finance.

Fossil fuels’ effect on the environment is considerable. The United Nations says that, since the 19th century, “human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.”

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Back in Abu Dhabi, BP’s Looney referenced the war in Ukraine as he sought to make the case for developing a system focused on a range of sources and priorities.

“There is a saying that wars do two things: wars reveal, and wars accelerate,” he said.

“And one of the things that it has revealed is that whenever we focus on just one thing, it can end up being a problem,” he went on to say.

Expanding on his point, Looney said that if he’d “asked anybody in Europe two or three years ago what they wanted from energy they would almost exclusively have said net-zero.”

“If I ask them today what they want from energy, they will inevitably tell you they want an energy system that works.”

An energy system that worked, he argued, was “an energy system that provides the world — Europe in this example — with secure energy, affordable energy and cleaner energy.”

What the planet needed, he later added, was a plan that didn’t solely address lowering emissions but security and affordability too.

“We should be very optimistic here,” he added, going on to note that “many of the things that will help energy security, help a cleaner energy system.”

“Offshore wind is local, hydrogen can be local, EV charging, electrifying transport, is local, bioenergy is local — so the things that contribute to a lower carbon economy also contribute to energy security.”

“And if we have a more diversified system, over time, we should have a more affordable system.”

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Lexus cuts RZ electric SUV prices by over $10,000 with its new entry-level 2025 model

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November 15, 2024

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Lexus cuts RZ electric SUV prices by over ,000 with its new entry-level 2025 model

Lexus-RZ-prices-2025

The all-electric luxury electric SUV is getting significantly cheaper. Lexus launched a new entry-level 2025 RZ trim with starting prices over $10,000 less than last year’s model. And you get just as much driving range.

2025 Lexus RZ electric SUV prices and driving range

Lexus launched its first dedicated EV last year, the RZ electric SUV. Starting at $55,175, the 2024 Lexus RZ 300e has a range of up to 266 miles.

The 2024 RZ 450e AWD, equipped with its dual-moto DIRECT4 system, has a range of up to 196 miles. Prices start at just under $60,000. Both models are offered in Premium or Luxury packages.

Lexus is drastically lowering prices for the 2025 model year. The 2025 Lexus RZ starts at $43,975, and that includes the $1,175 delivery fee.

At under $44,000, prices for the 2025 RZ start at over $10,000 less than last year’s model. The lower price tag comes as Lexus added a new entry-level RZ 300e FWD trim to the lineup.

The 2025 Lexus RZ 300e FWD still has an EPA-estimated 266-mile range (18″ wheels), so despite the lower price, it’s no loss from last year’s model. It’s powered by a 72.8 kWh battery pack from global leader CATL.

Lexus-RZ-prices-2025
2025 Lexus RZ 450e (Source: Lexus)

Lexus modified the subframe for the FWD model, replacing the rear eAxle from the AWD model. The result is a quieter, smoother drive.

Powered by a 71.4 kWh battery, the 2025 RZ 450e AWD has an EPA-estimated driving range of up to 220 miles (18″ wheels).

2025 Lexus RZ model Starting Price* EPA-estimated Driving Range
RZ 450e AWD $48,675 220 miles
RZ 450e Premium AWD w/ 18″ Wheel $52,875 220 miles
RZ 450e Premium AWD w/ 20″ Wheel $54,115 196 miles
RZ 450e Luxury AWD $58,605 220 miles
RZ 300e FWD $43,975 266 miles
RZ 300e Premium FWD w/ 18″ Wheel $48,175 266 miles
RZ 300e Premium FWD w/ 20″ Wheel $49,415 224 miles
RZ 300e Luxury FWD $53,905 266 miles
2025 Lexus RZ electric SUV prices and range (*Includes Delivery, Processing and Handling fee of $1,175)

The 2025 Lexus RZ is available in three grades. These include the new entry-level model, in addition to the current Premium and Luxury trims.

Inside, the electric SUV has a minimalistic feel with a standard 14″ infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support at the center.

You can also opt for the available 10″ head-up display (HUD), Mark Levinson Surround Sound System, and a host of safety features.

The flat platform provides a spacious interior with 37.52″ of rear legroom, nearly as much as the second row of a Ford Explorer (39″).

With the 2025 model arriving at dealerships soon, Lexus is offering closeout prices on 2024 models with up to $18,500 in lease cash discounts. You can use our link to find the best offers on the Lexus RZ at a dealer near you today.

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Why Jim Cramer is nervous about Best Buy, plus a bright spot in this down market

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November 15, 2024

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Why Jim Cramer is nervous about Best Buy, plus a bright spot in this down market

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‘Political malpractice’ if Trump undoes climate-geared Biden projects, outgoing U.S. energy secretary says

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November 15, 2024

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'Political malpractice' if Trump undoes climate-geared Biden projects, outgoing U.S. energy secretary says

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm speaks to the media on day five at the UNFCCC COP29 Climate Conference on November 15, 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. 

Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A potential decision by Donald Trump to walk back the Biden administration’s climate-geared projects would impact jobs in areas governed by the President-elect’s own party, outgoing U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told CNBC, urging consistency in Washington’s green transition policies.

Referencing the White House’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement — a 2015 treaty in which nearly 200 governments made non-binding pledges to reduce greenhouse emissions — during Trump’s first mandate, Granholm said the U.S. pressed ahead with projects linked to the green transition that members of Congress wanted to undertake in their districts.

“We are now building all of these projects. We’re building batteries for electric vehicles, we’re building the vehicles, we’re building the offshore wind turbines, we’re building the solar panels. And all of those are factories. And those factories are in districts of members of Congress,” she told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Friday at the COP29 U.N. climate conference held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

'Political malpractice' if Trump undoes Biden climate commitments: Energy Secretary Granholm

She estimated that 80% of the funding from U.S. President Joe Biden’s legacy bills — the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law — went to U.S. districts represented by Republican leadership.

“It would be political malpractice to undo those opportunities when people are just now getting hired,” she said, stressing benefits to the manufacturing sector and noting that the business community of the world’s largest economy and oil producer now wants a clear course from Washington on its climate policy.

“This isn’t about in [the Paris Agreement], out, shifting back and forth. Let’s have a consistent practice,” she said.

When asked for a response on Granholm’s comments, Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Trump’s transition team, said the president-elect will “deliver” on the promises he made on the campaign trail.

COP29 discussions are focusing on international community reaction to U.S. election, S&P Global says

International focus has now shifted on the shape of the U.S.’ future role in global climate policy, as Trump prepares to take the helm at the White House for a second mandate in January, following a sweeping victory against Democrat candidate Kamala Harris. Trump — who has yet to announce his own pick to lead the U.S. Department of Energy — put hydrocarbons at the front and center of his campaigning agenda, pledging to “end Biden’s delays in federal drilling permits and leases that are needed to unleash American oil and natural gas production.”

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) in March said that the country already “produced more crude oil than any nation at any time” for the past six years to 2023, averaging a crude oil and condensate production of 12.9 million barrels per day that year — breaking the previous U.S. and global record of 12.3 million barrels per day recorded in 2019, during Trump’s first mandate.

Yet Granholm on Friday stressed that the clean transition is also “unleashed” and will take place regardless of who is leading the White House — and that ignoring climate change risks sacrificing Washington’s position as a frontrunner in the blooming decarbonization industry.

“Why would we take a second, a backseat to an economic competitor like China?” she asked. “They have an economic strategy, they want to be number one. So if we get out of the game, we’re just going to cede that territory all over again. It’s bad strategy for the United States and for workers and for communities across the country.”

As the world braces for the possibility of a second U.S. exit from the Paris Agreement, some climate activists note that the green transition has now gained a different global momentum than during Trump’s first turn at the White House:

“There is no denying that another Trump presidency will stall national efforts to tackle the climate crisis and protect the environment, but most U.S. state, local, and private sector leaders are committed to charging ahead,” Dan Lashof, U.S. director of the World Resources Institute, said in a Nov. 6 statement.

“Donald Trump heading back to the White House won’t be a death knell to the clean energy transition that has rapidly picked up pace these last four years.”

'We have to be rational,' Saudi Arabia's climate envoy says at COP29

Granholm also identified potential support in Trump’s current entourage, which this week welcomed business tycoon Elon Musk as the president-elect’s choice to head a new Department of Government Efficiency, alongside conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy:

“His right-hand man, Elon Musk,  is somebody who has been strongly in favor of products that … address climate change. Obviously, he’s the founder of Tesla,” Granholm pointed out.

Musk’s environmental stance has come under question over the years, shifting from telling Rolling Stone magazine that “climate change is the biggest threat that humanity faces this century, except for AI” and backing carbon taxes to holding that the world needs hydrocarbon supplies as a bridge to renewable energy.

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