Oil Company Chiefs See Little Impact From U.S. Quitting Paris Accord
02 Juin 2017 - 03:20PM
Dow Jones News
By James Marson and Elena Cherney
ST. PETERSBURG--Top officials and executives from major
oil-producing countries and leading companies said that U.S.
President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris climate
accord was unlikely to have a major effect on efforts to reduce
carbon emissions, as technological advances make cleaner forms of
energy more economically viable.
Speaking at an economic forum in Russia, chief executives from
BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA said they are still
expecting the shift to cleaner energy to continue, including in the
U.S.
"We are in an energy transition. The energy transition is
unstoppable," said Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell. "Ultimately it is
policy, public sentiment, but also technology that's driving it. It
is fundamentally a force that cannot be stopped, irrespective of
what any actors, even if they are large actors like the United
States, decide to do in relation to Paris."
Mr. Trump said Thursday that he will withdraw the U.S. from the
Paris accord in an effort to boost the country's industry and
independence.
He said the U.S. would begin negotiations to either re-enter the
Paris deal under new terms or create a new deal that he considers
fair, an idea immediately rejected by several countries.
Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said he expected
U.S. companies to continue to push forward new technology to reduce
emissions.
"I wouldn't write off the United States' contribution to climate
action. In the United States, power is dispersed. There are
companies, innovation. The United States will end up being a
significant player in the climate conversation," he said.
Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French oil company Total, said
companies would continue to invest in cleaner forms of energy, a
decision driven by companies' search for profit.
"Consumers want cheap energy," he said. "We want to stay a major
energy company in 20-25 years."
Still, Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organization
of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said achieving the aim of the
Paris accord of keeping average global temperatures from rising
more than 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, would be
tough without U.S. involvement.
Accomplishing the goal "without the United States looks very
challenging and almost a task that the world will have to revisit,"
he said.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com and Elena Cherney
at elena.cherney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 02, 2017 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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