PARIS (AP) – French oil and gas company Total said it has decided to withdraw from the American Petroleum Institute energy association because it disagrees on climate-related policies.
Total said Friday in a statement that it would not renew its members for 2021 following an analysis of the API’s position on climate issues that has shown “certain divergences.”
The company notably mentions “API support during the recent elections to candidates who argued against U.S. participation” in the 2015 Paris Agreement to curb climate change. Total also noted divergent views on the regulation of methane emissions, subsidies on electric vehicles and the principle of carbon pricing, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Total says it is working to provide cleaner energy and its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, said the group wants to ensure 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. “
The API said in a statement on Friday that “we believe the world’s energy and environmental challenges are large enough that many different approaches are needed to solve them and that we benefit from a diversity of views.” With more than 600 members, API represents all segments of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry
The API added that “it does not support energy subsidies because it distorts the market and ultimately is detrimental to consumers.”
Peter Frumhoff, director of science and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists based in the United States, said Total’s decision to leave the group was significant.
“It’s very important for an oil company to take a position basically by leaving the main trading association here in the United States,” he told The Associated Press.
Frumhoff said the move came just days after API chairman Mike Summers delivered a speech in which he said the group would fight against the regulation of methane emissions, drilling restrictions on public land and support for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
He added that Total’s decision put pressure on other oil companies BP and Shell, which both said they intended to combat greenhouse gas emissions, “to put their political power where they have their mouths and do the same.”
President-elect Joe Biden, who has said he wants to focus on the fight against climate change, has pledged to get the US back into the Paris agreement on the first day of his presidency.
The API stressed that earlier this week, Summers said the partnership was ready to work “with the Biden administration on policy solutions” that would further reduce methane emissions, even exploring “the possibility of a new regulation in this space “.
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Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.