Big Oil, on the back of record profits last year, has been accused of dialing back critically important climate pledges in recent months.

Chief executives of some of the world’s largest energy companies on Monday sought to defend themselves from criticism, saying it is not possible to keep everyone happy amid the planned energy transition.

Speaking at the ADIPEC oil and gas conference, which opened in Abu Dhabi on Monday, executives representing energy majors in the U.S., Europe and Asia sought to strike a positive tone on the current state of play for the fossil fuel industry.

It comes shortly after climate protesters took to the streets in hundreds of cities across the globe to demand that world leaders phase out the burning of fossil fuels, the chief driver of the climate crisis.

  • Moobythegoldensock@lemm.eeEnglish
    35·
    1 year ago

    “So, the debate has always been posed here, I’m reminded of an old saying: ‘If you want to keep everyone happy, sell ice cream.’ We are not in the business of ice cream — and I’m reminded, there are people who are lactose intolerant,”

    … what? The longer you stretch an analogy, the higher the chance it’s going to sound stupid and weird.

    Jokes aside, it’s really not the responsibility of the oil barons to sunset their own injury. The responsibility is on the lawmakers who sold us all out to lobbyists for campaign money. We could have regulated this industry 30 years ago and had it all but obsoleted by now, but instead we did fuck all.

      • bobman@unilem.org
        21·
        1 year ago

        Stop voting for politicians that can be bought?

        I know they’re out there, we just need to give them support.

    • Lemmylaugh@lemmy.mlEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      “After three or four years, I understood that maybe I was naïve, we will not please the activists. We will never make enough to please the ones which are against oil and gas, but my mission is not to please them,” Pouyanne said.

      Yikes there’s another problem. Maybe someone over there should make it the mission to listen to the scientists.

    • Kichae@kbin.social
      3·
      1 year ago

      The system required personally ambitious people to the right thing for everyone instead of the thing that would get them further ahead as an individual. In the face of the wealth and power of the oil industry, corruption was almost inevitable, sadly.

    • captainlezbian@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      At the same time as human beings they did have a responsibility to look at the devastation of their industry and not hide that or buy off regulators. Additionally you can argue they had a responsibility to begin the transition to less destructive energy in earnest. And they sure as shit had a responsibility to not buy out school curricula to indoctrinate children away from green energy like seriously what the fuck

    • bobman@unilem.org
      31·
      1 year ago

      The responsibility is on the lawmakers who sold us all out to lobbyists for campaign money.

      Slight correction.

      The responsibility is on the consistency to vote for lawmakers that don’t succumb to bribery.

      Blaming politicians for the world’s problems instead of voters is like blaming companies for climate change but not customers.