How to debate the transition with oil and gas firms
Is anger and a refusal to allow any comeback a useful tactic to shake up cosy complacency? Or is reasoned debate more useful?
An October Ted event where a climate activist, blinking back tears, launched a tirade at a slightly bemused Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, before refusing to let him answer her question and then storming off the platform she had agreed to share with him has captured global headlines. And maybe that is a good thing. It is unlikely that the conversation would have reached as wide an audience without the impassioned intervention of Lauren Macdonald, a member of both youth climate group Green New Deal Rising and Stop Cambo, a campaign to halt the development of a West of Shetland oilfield. On the flip side, it is hugely unlikely that her remarks would have gained any traction had they not been d
Also in this section
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
1 December 2025
The North African producer’s first bidding round in almost two decades is an important milestone but the recent extension suggests a degree of trepidation






