Letter from Amsterdam: Europe’s IOCs first out of the blocks

As investor sentiment shifts, companies that align with the transition have a significant competitive edge

Europe’s biggest oil companies are all making strategic changes to mitigate future climate risks, a move spurred by investor, societal and political pressures that have given the firms a head-start in the energy transition race over competitors from less climate-focused regions. ‘Net zero by 2050’ has been the catchphrase among European IOCs over recent months. All of Europe’s biggest oil companies—BP, Total, Shell, Norway’s Equinor and Italy’s Eni—have committed to getting as close as possible to eliminating their carbon emissions by the middle of this century. Shell, Equinor and Eni have gone as far as including scope three emissions—the carbon released by their customers. North Amer