BP CEO defends spending plans as climate protesters block entrance to London energy conference

Published

2 years ago

February 28, 2023

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Climate activists light flares and hold banners during a protest outside the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel on the first day of the International Energy Week conference in London on February 28, 2023.

Justin Tallis | Afp | Getty Images

LONDON — BP CEO Bernard Looney on Tuesday sought to defend the firm’s fossil fuel spending plans, reaffirming the need for an “orderly” energy transition and highlighting the oil giant’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.

His comments came shortly after dozens of protesters blocked an entrance to the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel on the first day of International Energy Week, a global energy conference that brings together senior figures from across the industry.

Holding banners reading “Climate Criminals Enter Here” and “No New Oil,” activists from climate action group Fossil Free London gathered outside the luxury hotel to protest BP’s continued fossil fuel investment. Their chants could be heard throughout the opening sessions of the conference.

“Energy is the lifeblood of society,” BP’s Looney said as he addressed those in attendance.

“An energy system that works is one that provides energy that is secure and affordable as well as lower carbon — what’s known as the energy trilemma,” Looney said.

“It is a complex and, indeed, it is a massive challenge,” he continued. “To solve it, action is clearly needed to accelerate the energy transition and at the same time, that transition has got to be orderly. We need to do both. We need to invest in the energy transition and — not or — we need to invest in today’s energy system, which is predominantly an oil and gas system.”

Holding banners reading “No New Oil,” activists from climate action group Fossil Free London blocked an entrance to the InterContinental London Park Lane hotel on the first day of International Energy Week.

Justin Tallis | Afp | Getty Images

Earlier this month, BP reported record 2022 earnings to join a profit bonanza for Big Oil. The company also prompted anger from activist investors and campaigners as it announced plans to scale back its climate ambitions.

The British energy major raked in net profit of $27.7 billion last year, more than double its 2021 total, as fossil fuel prices surged following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

BP’s Looney sought to defend the company from criticism at the time, saying the company was “leaning in” to its strategy to provide the world with the energy it needs.

He announced BP would spend up to $8 billion more investment into the energy transition this decade and up to $8 billion more on oil and gas in support of energy security and affordability this decade.

BP’s three objectives

BP, which was one of the first energy giants to announce an ambition to cut emissions to net zero “by 2050 or sooner,” had pledged emissions would be 35% to 40% lower by the end of the decade. It said on Feb. 7, however, that it was now targeting a 20% to 30% cut, saying it needed to keep investing in oil and gas to meet demand.

When asked on Tuesday what he would say to the activists chanting in protest over BP’s spending plans, Looney replied, “I think the way we see our role, it may not be perfect but it’s the way we see our role in life … is to do three things.”

“We invest our cashflows, we pay taxes and we return value to our shareholders. That’s kind of the three things that we do in this space,” Looney said.

The extraordinary scale of the oil and gas industry’s earnings has renewed criticism and sparked calls for higher taxes.

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

BP’s CEO said the company invested $16 billion last year and was prepared to increase investment into both today’s energy system and the energy transition. He added the energy major paid $15 billion in taxes in 2022, describing that as “the highest taxes BP has ever paid in its 113-year history.”

“And then finally … we have to take care of our shareholders,” Looney said. “I think there is a narrative that shareholders are somehow faceless institutions. They are far from it. Millions and millions of people around the world depend on BP’s shares and dividends … and companies like ours for their livelihoods.”

BP earlier this month boosted its dividend by 10% to 6.61 cents per ordinary share.

“That’s how we look at our role in life,” Looney said. “We have to listen to people. We have to put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and try to understand their point of view. But at the end of the day, we have to boil down what we do into those three things.”

Environment

Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]

Published

4 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Day 1 of the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025 [Gallery]

electrek formula sun grand prix solar car track event race

Today was the official start of racing at the Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix 2025! There was a tremendous energy (and heat) on the ground at NCM Motorsports Park as nearly a dozen teams took to the track. Currently, as of writing, Stanford is ranked #1 in the SOV (Single-Occupant Vehicle) class with 68 registered laps. However, the fastest lap so far belongs to UC Berkeley, which clocked a 4:45 on the 3.15-mile track. That’s an average speed of just under 40 mph on nothing but solar energy. Not bad!

In the MOV (Multi-Occupant Vehicle) class, Polytechnique Montréal is narrowly ahead of Appalachian State by just 4 laps. At last year’s formula sun race, Polytechnique Montréal took first place overall in this class, and the team hopes to repeat that success. It’s still too early for prediction though, and anything can happen between now and the final day of racing on Saturday.

Congrats to the teams that made it on track today. We look forward to seeing even more out there tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some shots from today via the event’s wonderful photographer Cora Kennedy.

Stay tuned for more!

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Environment

Tesla sold 5,000 Cybertrucks Q2, Optimus is in chaos, plus: the Infinity Train!

Published

6 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Tesla sold 5,000 Cybertrucks Q2, Optimus is in chaos, plus: the Infinity Train!

The numbers are in and they are all bad for Tesla fans – the company sold just 5,000 Cybertruck models in Q4 of 2025, and built some 30% more “other” vehicles than it delivered. It just gets worse and worse, on today’s tension-building episode of Quick Charge!

We’ve also got day 1 coverage of the 2025 Electrek Formula Sun Grand Prix, reports that the Tesla Optimus program is in chaos after its chief engineer jumps ship, and a look ahead at the fresh new Hyundai IONIQ 2 set to bow early next year, thanks to some battery specs from the Kia EV2.

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New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.

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Tesla launches Oasis Supercharger with solar farm and off-grid batteries

Published

8 hours ago

July 3, 2025

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Tesla launches Oasis Supercharger with solar farm and off-grid batteries

Tesla has launched its new Oasis Supercharger, the long-promised EV charging station of the future, with a solar farm and off-grid batteries.

Early in the deployment of the Supercharger network, Tesla promised to add solar arrays and batteries to the Supercharger stations, and CEO Elon Musk even said that most stations would be able to operate off-grid.

While Tesla did add solar and batteries to a few stations, the vast majority of them don’t have their own power system or have only minimal solar canopies.

Back in 2016, I asked Musk about this, and he said that it would now happen as Tesla had the “pieces now in place” with Supercharger V3, Powerpack V2, and SolarCity:

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All of these pieces have been in place for years, and Tesla has now discontinued the Powerpack in favor of the Megapack. The Supercharger network is also transitioning to V4 stations.

Yet, solar and battery deployment haven’t accelerated much in the decade since Musk made that comment, but it is finally happening.

Last year, Tesla announced a new project called ‘Oasis’, which consists of a new model Supercharger station with a solar farm and battery storage enabling off-grid operations in Lost Hills, California.

Tesla has now unveiled the project and turned on most of the Supercharger stalls:

The project consists of 168 chargers, with half of them currently operational, making it one of the largest Supercharger stations in the world. However, that’s not even the most notable aspect of it.

The station is equipped with 11 MW of ground-mounted solar panels and canopies, spanning 30 acres of land, and 10 Tesla Megapacks with a total energy storage capacity of 39 MWh.

It can be operated off-grid, which is the case right now, according to Tesla.

With off-grid operations, Tesla was about to bring 84 stalls online just in time for the Fourth of July travel weekend. The rest of the stalls and a lounge are going to open later this year.

Electrek’s Take

This is awesome. A bit late, but awesome. This is what charging stations should be like: fully powered by renewable energy.

Unfortunately, it will be much harder to open those stations in the future due to legislation that Trump and the Republican Party have just passed, which removes incentives for solar and energy storage, adds taxes on them, and removes incentives to build batteries – all things that have helped Tesla considerably over the last few years.

The US is likely going to have a few tough years for EV adoption and renewable energy deployment.

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