• A Japanese study published by Plos One reviewed the environmental statements of oil companies Bp, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, then compared them with their business strategies and concrete actions.
• A stark discrepancy between promises and reality emerges, to the point that the researchers openly speak of greenwashing.
• Hydrocarbon production remains constant while, by contrast, investments in renewable sources amount to mere crumbs.

"The clean energy claims of Bp, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell: a discrepancy between words, actions and investments." It sounds like the title of a report by an environmental organisation, yet it is a Japanese study published in one of the most celebrated international scientific journals, Plos One. After scrutinising the environmental and climate promises of these four oil companies and comparing them with concrete facts, the authors reach a peremptory conclusion: "the accusations of greenwashing appear well founded."

Oil companies are talking about climate more and more

From among the so-called "seven sisters" — that is, the global oil majors — the researchers chose four: two European, Bp and Shell, and two American, Chevron and ExxonMobil. Together, they are responsible — directly or indirectly — for more than 10 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions since 1965. As a first step, the researchers searched for 39 keywords in the annual reports published by these companies from 2009 to 2020, organising them into four categories: climate change, transition, emissions and clean energy. Their presence is indeed increasingly substantial, reaching — in the case of Bp — 1 per cent of the total words in the 2020 report. As suggested by several previous analyses too, the American companies show greater resistance to engaging with the ecological transition.

Business models are still tied to fossil fuels

Up to this point, then, the picture appears encouraging. The promises begin to creak, however, when compared with business strategies and concrete actions. First of all, hydrocarbon production remained broadly stable over the ten years considered, aside from the inevitable fluctuations linked to market conditions. As if that were not enough, companies such as Bp and Shell launched new exploration projects in search of fossil fuels in 2020, contradicting their own commitment to scaling back extraction projects.

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Four of the biggest oil companies are spending only a tiny fraction of the billions they invest in energy projects each year on low-carbon projects. newscientist.com/article/230805…

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And what about investments in renewable energy? Even though the companies do not report them in detail, the researchers consulted external sources and concluded that the most proactive are the European firms Bp and Shell, with a share of Capex (capital expenditure) equal to 2 per cent and 1.33 per cent respectively. Chevron and ExxonMobil appear far behind, at 0.22 and 0.23 per cent. "The financial analysis reveals that business models continue to be dependent on fossil fuels, alongside clean energy spending that remains negligible and lacking in transparency," the study states. It goes on to openly vindicate those who speak of greenwashing.