BP puts “profit before people and planet”, says IPPR

31 Oct 2023

Press Story

  • The energy giant made profits of £2.7bn and invested £2bn in fossil fuels

  • For every £1 BP spent on low carbon investments last quarter, they invested £11 in fossil fuels and gave shareholders £9

The UK’s leading progressive thinktank, IPPR, has responded to the announcement that BP has made £2.7 billion ($3.3 billion) in profits and invested £2 billion ($2.5 billion) in fossil fuels in the last quarter (Jul-Sep). BP has also announced a new round of share buybacks, transferring £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) to shareholders.

During the energy price shock of the last two years BP has invested nine times more into fossil fuels as renewables and completed more than £14.8 billion ($18 billion) of buybacks from surplus cash flow.

Joseph Evans, researcher at IPPR, said:

“BP is prioritising profit before people and the planet. At a time when energy companies should be urgently responding to climate change by moving their investments away from fossil fuels, BP has doubled down on its oil and gas business to reap enormous profits and enrich their shareholders with more than a billion in buybacks.

“Since the energy price shock started two years ago, BP has invested 9 times as much into fossil fuels as renewables. It’s clear that oil and gas companies are prioritising their shareholders at the expense of the transition to clean energy, so the UK government must now take the reins by investing in renewables.”

A report published by IPPR argued that the UK needs to introduce a green industrial strategy to capitalise on the economic opportunities of the net zero transition. The report, From missed chances to green advances, contained the following analysis:

  • Green goods and services contribute just 4 per cent to UK GDP, vs 6 per cent across the EU, 11 per centin Sweden and 11.5 per cent Denmark.

  • UK could have created almost 100,000 more jobs in wind industry if it had followed Denmark’s example and built up domestic manufacturing

  • UK public investment commitment into low-carbon technologies is among the lowest in the G7