In recent years, energy companies have faced what seemed like a clear choice between sticking with fossil fuels or turning to renewable energy. In the United States, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have expanded their traditional and highly profitable oil businesses, ignoring the climate crisis. In the United Kingdom, Shell Plc and BP Plc have shifted to green energy, reducing their oil production but hurting their profits. Either black or green, but everything included.
Patrick Pouyanne, chairman of Paris-listed TotalEnergies SE, is on a mission to prove there is a middle way, by boosting fossil fuel production and using the proceeds to finance increased production of renewable electricity. It’s a model that others should emulate – and that policymakers should encourage.
