BP exec: Climate change worries caused daughter's friends to take antidepressants
The BP CEO confessed he hated seeing 'young people so unhappy, so anxious' about global warming
BP CEO Bob Dudley on the outlook for oil demand, the company's growth, the regulatory environment, the company's alternative energy push and the outlook for oil prices.
Outgoing BP CEO Bob Dudley, the man who steered the oil giant through the aftermath of the massive 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, revealed that his daughter's friends are taking antidepressants because of their concerns about climate change.
Dudley, who is slated to step down from his position in February, confessed he hated seeing "young people so unhappy, so anxious" about global warming -- which is being driven by increasing carbon emissions -- the Daily Mail reported.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BP | BP PLC | 30.23 | +0.06 | +0.18% |
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BP's Chief Executive Bob Dudley (REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett)
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BP did not immediately respond to FOX Business' request for comment.
Dudley’s daughter, who is a social worker in California, reportedly questioned her father about his job.
“'How you can work for a company that in five years won't be selling petrol?” she said, according to the Daily Mail.
"I wish the young people today would get more involved in energy — actually getting involved, whether it's renewables or not,” Dudley said in response to his daughter, according to the outlet. “Because it's the easiest job to throw rocks. It is just such fun. But you have to have some responsibility for these things and that's not what everybody's doing.”
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The multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London is responsible for producing the equivalent of 3.7 million barrels of oil each day, BP says. The company is both indirectly and directly responsible for 491 million tons of carbon emissions a year, according to The Times, a British newspaper.
“Carbon emissions from energy use are estimated to have grown by around 2% last year. That’s roughly the equivalent to carbon emissions associated with increasing the number of passenger cars on the planet by a third. This number is material. This increase stems pretty much directly from the growth in energy demand," said Spencer Dale, BP's group chief economist.
The company was previously deluged with criticism for contributing a small fraction of its annual spending budget into renewables, according to the outlet.
However, in recent years, BP along with other major powerhouse players in the fossil fuel industry, such as Royal Dutch Shell and Total, have accelerated spending on wind and solar power along with battery technologies in an effort to cut the carbon emissions, according to Reuters.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RYDAF | SHELL PLC | 33.1 | -0.07 | -0.21% |
| TTFNF | TOTALENERGIES SE | 63.05 | +1.70 | +2.76% |
Investors have been increasing pressure on oil companies to slash emissions and to invest more in "low-carbon energy and increase disclosure on climate change,” the outlet reported.
"As the world demands more energy to fuel increasing prosperity and provide people with a better quality of life, it also demands energy delivered in new ways, with fewer emissions. For the energy sector, this dual challenge is the defining issue of our times."
In 2018, BP specifically announced plans to reduce emissions of CO2 gases by 3.5 million tonnes by 2025 while investing up to $500 million per year on renewable energies, according to Reuters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.