News & Analysis
October 1, 2024
BP recently announced plans to sell its onshore wind business, BP Wind Energy, stating that the sale is “part of our strategy of continuing to simplify our portfolio and focus on value.” The news comes after BP’s chief executive announced earlier this year that the oil giant plans to increase its fossil fuel output, despite the company’s claims that it is committed to advancing a transition away from fossil fuels.
The planned sale of BP’s 10 onshore wind assets follows a $1.1 billion reduction of its offshore wind portfolio value last year and subsequent freeze of new offshore wind projects. These developments are serious blows to the company’s wind business, a small part of the company that BP has been chipping away for more than a decade. BP has sold off — or attempted to sell off — portions of its wind energy business at least four times since 2009, all while continuing to double down on fossil fuel production and rake in massive profits.
Less than a year ago, BP was still using promotional videos of wind turbine maintenance to advertise how the company was “building the energy system of the future.”
Overemphasizing investments in renewable energy is a common pattern for oil majors, including BP. CCI highlighted this deception in “Big Oil is Still Lying,” a report detailing five ways oil companies are lying about their commitment to climate solutions and their role in the climate crisis. In 2019, for example, BP ran a series of television, print, and digital ads titled “Possibilities Everywhere” that touted the company’s wind and solar investments. The public interest law firm ClientEarth filed a complaint against BP in the United Kingdom, alleging the ads misled the public because of their focus on low-carbon projects when, in reality, 96% of the company’s annual expenditure is on fossil fuels — a claim that authorities found to have merit. BP withdrew its ad campaign after the complaint was filed.
From walking back its net zero pledges, to abandoning renewable energy projects that it relied on for a green image, to doubling down on fossil fuel production, BP has continuously shown that it has no interest in being a genuine partner in climate solutions.
This type of duplicity is one reason why BP is facing dozens of lawsuits from communities across the U.S. who are demanding that BP and its Big Oil peers face accountability for their climate lies.
