Shell says oil companies can only decarbonize when oil and gas demand drops

CALGARY — The president of British oil giant Shell's Canadian subsidiary says the pace of the global energy transition isn't up to oil and gas companies.

Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce says while oil and gas companies must do what they can to reduce their own emissions, they can only move as fast as the rest of the economy.

Pierce says the global economy is still fossil fuel-driven and fossil fuels are what customers are demanding.

She says transitioning to a lower-carbon economy will require government incentives across the entire value chain, particularly in fossil fuel-intensive industries like cement and steel manufacturing, shipping and aviation.

Pierce made the comments just days before hundreds of energy sector executives and government representatives from around the globe arrive in Calgary for next week's 24th World Petroleum Congress.

The theme of the conference, which was last held in Canada in 2000, is the energy transition.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2023.

The Canadian Press