Major European energy companies doubled down on oil and gas in 2024 to focus on near-term profits, slowing down – and at times reversing – climate commitments in a shift that they are “likely to stick with in 2025.”

This is according to an end-December report from Reuters which attributes the change in focus to governments around the world slowing the rollout of clean energy policies and delaying targets as energy costs soared following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

BP and Shell, for example, put the brakes on their plans to spend billions on wind and solar power projects. Instead, they shifted spending to higher-margin oil and gas projects.

BP had been aiming for a 20-fold growth in renewable power this decade to 50 gigawatts but the company announced in December it would spin off almost all its offshore wind projects into a joint venture with Japanese power generator JERA.

In the same month, Shell announced a retreat from new offshore wind investments following an extensive review of the business aimed at reducing spending on low-carbon and renewable businesses and increasing the focus on oil, gas, and biofuels.

In October 2024, reporting weaker-than-expected third-quarter profits, Norway’s state-controlled Equinor announced it might also invest less in renewable energy towards 2030, cutting its expected 2024 renewable energy output growth to 50% from 70%.

Accela Research analyst Rohan Bowater told Reuters that geopolitical disruptions like the invasion of Ukraine have weakened CEO incentives to prioritise the low-carbon transition amid high oil prices and evolving investor expectations. He said BP, Shell, and Equinor reduced low-carbon spending by 8% in 2024.