Page 224 - ΝΑΥΤΙΚΑ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ - SEPT 2025

Hydrocarbons vs renewables

Why are energy

companies

turning their backs

on renewables?

by Pantelis Paidousis

We are in the year 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic
is ravaging the planet, putting national health-
care systems under extreme pressure. The virus
is spreading rapidly, and thousands of people are
losing their lives every day. In this context,
many governments around the world take a radical
decision: a total lockdown.

Economic activity grinds to a halt, global Renewables are emerging in the eyes of
demand for travel collapses – drag- companies and investors not just as a
ging fuel demand down with it – while “cleaner” energy source but as a more
industrial production slows abruptly. sustainable and attractive business
As a result, global energy consumption prospect compared to oil and gas. In this
plummets, with oil and natural gas prices light, oil and gas giants start announcing
dropping to historic lows. In this climate ambitious commitments to reduce their
of uncertainty, where no prediction of a emissions and invest in “green” projects.
return to normalcy can be considered reli- However, behind these overly ambitious
able, the energy sector is put to the test. declarations, the entire energy sector
Alarm bells ring for energy giants, partic- seems to be in free fall.
ularly in the West, with company losses Traditional oil companies such as BP and
surpassing $100 billion, according to Shell are adding wind and solar projects
Wood Mackenzie data. In this unstable to their portfolios. A wave of investment
environment, top energy companies are in RES is just around the corner. Yet most
forced to reassess their strategies and companies lack the necessary expertise
investments. The pressure is twofold: on in this field, raising valid questions about
one hand, the international community this transition’s effective and sustainable
is demanding the acceleration of the outcome.
energy transition and the reduction of “Investors and companies focused on
carbon emissions; on the other, investors what at the time seemed to be the dom-
are looking for new, sustainable growth inant narrative about a shift toward wind
models. Under these circumstances, a and solar energy”, noted ExxonMobil
growing number of energy companies CEO Darren Woods in an interview with
are making a sudden, and in some cases the New York Times in November 2024.
erratic pivot towards Renewable Energy Fast forward to today. In 2025, the energy
Sources (RES). sector has returned to a state of normalcy,

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