Guest essay by Eric Worrall
According to The Guardian, oil executives are so focussed on profit they are ignoring the opportunity to make even more money by investing in renewables.
Oil firm bosses’ pay ‘incentivises them to undermine climate action’
Lucrative pay and share options linked to continued extraction of fossil fuels by ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP
Jonathan Watts
@jonathanwatts
Thu 15 Apr 2021 14.00 AESTLucrative pay and share options have created an incentive for oil company executives to resist climate action, according to a study that casts doubt on recent net-zero commitments by BP and Shell.
Compensation packages for CEOs, often in excess of $10m (£7.2m), are linked to continued extraction of fossil fuels, exploration of new fields and the promotion of strong market demand through advertising, lobbying and government subsidies, the report says.
The setup with executives runs counter to efforts around the world to keep global heating to 1.5-2C (2.7-3.6F) above pre-industrial levels.
…
Between 1990 and 2019 the four companies made a combined profit of about $2tn. A minuscule fraction of these funds has been invested in low-carbon energy.
ExxonMobil allocated 0.22% of its capital expenditure to low-carbon energy in the eight years until 2018. The share at Chevron was almost identical. Shell managed 1.3% and BP 2.3%. None were aligned with a 1.5C pathway, the report says.
…
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/15/oil-firm-ceos-pay-is-an-incentive-to-resist-climate-action-study-finds
I don’t get why Jonathan Watts seems upset by the structure of oil company bonuses. Surely in this case greed is good. The Guardian regularly claims that renewables are cheaper than fossil fuel. If renewables really are an opportunity to boost profits, the most profit obsessed oil executives will be the first to jump ship and embrace renewables.
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Jonathan, it is because those CEOs know something you don’t. That ‘renewables’ don’t produce the goods.
The Grauniad leads by example – unprofitable and throwing money around like confetti
These meeja-studies tyres really have never read The Anti-Capitalistic Mentality by Ludwig von Mises, have they?
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
The Grauniad is also displaying its anti-west agenda. Hey Graun, what are Saudi Aramco, Rosneft, Kuwait Petroleum, National Iranian Oil, China National Petroleum and Abu Dhabi National Oil up to these days? Still firmly in the oil business, I think.
These morons are completely unaware that the law in most western countries says that company executives must focus completely on the shareholders’ welfare. That is true despite the fact that many left wing activist academics deny it.
Fancy a commercial company suggesting other companies are being underhand, because those companies are rewarding their CEOs with money if they increase company profits.
The only type of organisation that could advance such anti business nonsense, is one that has support/funding guaranteed irrespective of its profit or circulation.
Makes you wonder who and what exactly is funding the Guardian’s ongoing acceleration into into its own anti capitalist destruction?
Next, the Grauniad will run an exposé on hospital CEO’s and how they’re incentivised to keep newborns from dying, thus increasing population and adding to the climate emergency.
Or to put it another way. Guarriand writers think oil company executives are ignoring a money making opportunity because they are stupid, ideologically driven and evil.
I’m sure someone is being stupid and ideologically driven and look forward to the paper they write for going bust.
“And in other breaking news, the Sun came up in the east this morning.”
It must be really easy for those fossil-fuel companies to make good profit these days.
No need for any special creativity or innovation.
Just need to read and do the exact opposite of what the Guardian harps on about.
They are sure to be on the right trajectory.
From the article: “Lucrative pay and share options linked to continued extraction of fossil fuels by ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and BP”
I think Captain Obvious here, is clueless. I get the impression that it surprises this author that people do a job in order to get paid.
People who do a very good job in their profession get paid very well, because of the very good job they do. This is not a crime, or some nefarious effort to thwart the Human-caused Climate Change meme.
There is no such thing as renewables and the only profit to be made is in sucking up billions in taxpayer money for subsidies.
The horror! Rewarding success is just wrong! Think of how sad that makes failures. Have you no compassion?
Problem is that companies are being influenced and measured by activist investors who are pushing for ESG initiatives. Corporate boards are also increasingly being infested with like minded ESG activists so it’s not all about profits anymore.
Guardian management processes. Like governments-pay them based on how much money they spend instead of how much they make! Genius! Does the Guardian make money?
“According to The Guardian, oil executives are so focussed on profit they are ignoring the opportunity to make even more money by investing in renewables” Full admission THIS IS ALL ABOUT MONEY AND NOTHING ABOUT THE PLANET OR THE PEOPLE.
Wait… oil companies are in the oil business?