The chief executive of French oil and gas group TotalEnergies finds criticism by climate activists that the company is “greenwashing” unfair. He said so in an interview with the newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. According to Patrick Pouyanné, TotalEnergies invests a lot of money in sustainable energy sources and, among other things, in building charging stations for electric cars.
Greenwashing means companies pretending to be cleaner than they actually are. The TotalEnergies shareholders’ meeting in Paris was interrupted last month by demonstrations by climate activists, which also had to involve the French ME. Climate activists want TotalEnergies to become more sustainable and shed fossil fuels faster, just as they are demanding of other oil and gas companies like Shell.
5 billion
However, Pouyanné says the company will invest 5 billion euros in cleaner energy sources this year. This means that TotalEnergies is “very involved in this strategic challenge”, according to the CEO. But at the same time, the world’s demand for fossil fuels continues to increase, says the CEO. Consequently, investments in fossil fuels are still needed.
The 59-year-old chairman went on to say he is willing to extend his tenure at TotalEnergies next year if asked to stay and shareholders agree. Pouyanné took the top position of TotalEnergies in 2014 after the death of his predecessor Christophe de Margerie in a plane crash in Moscow.
Source: BNR
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