In 2018, the world's top oil companies spent only 1.3% of their total budgets on green energy

According to a study by the CDP Climate Research Institute, only 1% of the world's top oil and gas companies spent on green energy in their 2018 budgets, but European oil and gas companies invested far more than their counterparts
in the US and Asia.

This year, companies like Royal Dutch Shell, Total and BP have all stepped up their investments in wind and solar and battery technology, seeking a bigger role
in global efforts to cut carbon emissions to combat global warming.

In recent years, investors have ramped up pressure on the boards of fossil fuel companies, including ExxonMobil, to reduce emissions, invest more in low-carbon energy sources and increase disclosure
on climate change.
ExxonMobil is the world's largest publicly traded oil company
.

However, CDP's climate research institute believes that with the Atlantic Ocean as the dividing line, the gap between business investment on both sides is still large
.
"Due to less and less domestic pressure, U.
S.
companies are not embracing renewable energy
in the same way as their European counterparts.
"

CDP's research shows that Europe's oil majors account for around 70% of the industry's renewable capacity and account for almost all of the capacity
currently untapped.
For example, Shell plans to invest $1-2 billion a year in clean energy technologies in the future, with a total budget of $250 billion to $30 billion
.
Norway's Equinor plans to spend 15-20% of its budget on renewable energy
by 2030.
Since 2010, Total has invested the most in low-carbon energy, accounting for about 4.
3%
of its budget.

Overall, however, the world's top 24 listed companies accounted for just 1.
3%
of the total low-carbon energy budget of $260 billion in 2018.
This is still nearly double the group's 0.
68% low-carbon energy investment budget between 2010 and 2017
.

Low-carbon energy investment accelerated after the landmark 2015 UN-backed Paris climate agreement, with governments agreeing to reduce net emissions to zero by the end of the century in order to limit global warming to below
2 degrees Celsius (35.
6 degrees Fahrenheit).
Since 2016, global businesses have struck 148 deals
on alternative energy and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies.

Energy companies are increasingly turning to producing natural gas, the least polluting fossil fuel, which they see as playing an important role
in reducing emissions by replacing polluting coal and meeting growing electricity demand.

The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), which brings together 13 of the world's top oil and gas companies, pledged earlier this year to reduce emissions of potent greenhouse gases by a
fifth by 2025.

But critics say the industry isn't doing enough
.
Jeanne Martin of ShareAction said: "The 1% figure pales in comparison to the amount of money Big Oil is spending to block climate initiatives and regulation, and investors need to step up their engagement and tell fossil fuel companies to
align their business models with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
" ”