A new academic study reveals that major oil and gas companies own just 1.42 percent of global renewable energy projects. This finding underscores concerns about fossil fuel influence at upcoming climate talks. The research highlights a stark gap between industry promises and actual investments in the energy transition.
As the United Nations' 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) approaches on November 7 in Belém, Brazil—a city of about 2.5 million on the Amazon's edge—debate intensifies over the role of fossil fuel companies in global climate efforts. Critics argue that these events have become forums for greenwashing, with oil and gas lobbyists outnumbering officials from the 10 countries most vulnerable to climate change at last year's COP29, according to Global Witness.
Patrick Galey, head of fossil fuel investigations at Global Witness, stated, “We genuinely believe that COPs have been co-opted by the fossil fuel industry, to such an extent that we’re seeing thousands of lobbyists turn up each year. And they are not lobbying for green energy.”
Proponents of industry involvement, like former U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, have countered that oil and gas firms must be included in decarbonization coalitions. Moniz told CNBC at COP28 in 2023, “Coalitions have to include the incumbent energy companies, and specifically the oil and gas companies.”
However, a study published in Nature Sustainability challenges this view. Researchers Marcel Llavero Pasquina and Antonio Bontempi analyzed data from Global Energy Monitor, an open-source database tracking energy projects worldwide. They found that among the 250 largest oil and gas companies, only 20 percent operate any renewable energy projects. Overall, these firms own 1.42 percent of global renewables, which account for just 0.1 percent of their total energy production.
Llavero Pasquina, from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, expressed surprise at the results, telling Grist, “They’ve been hammering this message that they are part of the transition... I was expecting [oil and gas companies to own] around 5 percent.” He hopes the findings will support excluding fossil fuel producers from setting international climate goals.
The study arrives amid rising global CO2 levels, as announced by the World Meteorological Organization, and follows BP's decision earlier this year to slash renewable investments by about 70 percent. Galey added, “We continually see fossil fuel producers over-promise and under-deliver... Every COP we allow them to infiltrate incurs a debt to future generations that will be paid in climate impacts.”