Total will not renew its membership in the American Petroleum Institute (API) by 2021 due to divergences with the U.S.’s main oil lobby over climate policies, the French oil and gas supermajor said Friday.
For 2019 and 2020, Total found the API positions “partially aligned” to theirs, but some divergences remain. These include API support for the reversal of U.S. regulation on methane emissions, which Total opposed in November 2019, and API’s membership in the Transportation Fairness Alliance, which opposes subsidies to electric vehicles. The API also has different positions from Total in terms of the price of carbon.
“In addition, API gave its support during the recent elections to candidates who argued against U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement,” Total said in a statement.
“As part of our climate ambition made public in May 2020, we are committed to ensuring, in a transparent manner, that the industry associations of which we are members adopt positions and messages aligned with those of the group in the fight against climate change ”Said the president and CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanné.
Total is committed to the profitable growth of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewables business as part of its new zero strategy and agenda.
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Pouyanné told the French newspaper Le Parisien in September that the company aims to be one of the top five producers of renewable energy in the world. The company’s mix of operations today is 55% oil, 40% gas and less than 5% electricity from renewable energy, Pouyanné said, noting that by 2050 Total’s operations they will be divided into 20% oil, 40% gas and 40% renewable energy. .
Total is not the only oil-based supermarket in Europe that has left major U.S. oil lobbies due to differences in climate policies.
Last year, BP left three U.S. energy trade associations, the main pressure group on refining, the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), the Western Energy Alliance (WEA), and the State Oil Association. (WSPA), after meeting in a – deep review that these three associations do not have climate policies aligned with the goals of BP and its support for the Paris Agreement. A year earlier, Shell had left the refining lobby due to “material misalignment” in climate-related positions.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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