ABSTRACT

Getting renewable energies to a position of price competitiveness with fossil fuels has long been seen as a key challenge to the counter-carbon energy transition. Less discussed, but more significant to future investment trajectories in the capitalist global economy, is the relative profitability of fossil-fuel and renewable-energy production. Having recently pledged over the next few decades to decrease hydrocarbon production and increase renewable-energy generation, Europe's three oil and gas majors – BP, Shell and Total – now institutionally straddle the two energy worlds and their respective economic dynamics. This article takes stock of the companies’ announcements and of the existing investment and profit landscape to assess the prospects for their own corporate energy transitions and thus for the global energy transition more broadly.

摘要

长期以来，将可再生能源置于与化石燃料相比具有价格竞争力的位置，一直被视为反碳能源转型的关键挑战。较少讨论但对资本主义全球经济的未来投资轨迹更为重要的是化石燃料和可再生能源生产的相对盈利能力。最近承诺在未来几十年减少碳氢化合物产量和增加可再生能源发电量的欧洲三大石油和天然气巨头——BP、壳牌和道达尔——现在在制度上跨越了两个能源世界及其各自的经济动态。本文评估了公司的公告以及现有的投资和利润格局，以评估其自身企业能源转型的前景，从而更广泛地评估全球能源转型的前景。