Oil’s Net Zero Scenarios Are Science Fiction
A BP model envisions demand plummeting almost 80% by midcentury, but the steps to getting there appear increasingly outlandish.
A world still thirsty for oil.
Photographer: GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images
Hello and welcome to Elements, our daily energy and commodities newsletter. Today, Bloomberg Opinion’s Javier Blas looks at the future of oil demand, while energy major Shell Plc reports record annual earnings and the US starts to detain imports of Chinese aluminum. If you haven’t yet signed up to get Elements sent to your inbox, you can do that here.
For years, energy experts modeling the impact of 2050 net zero targets on oil demand had the advantage that the deadline, and the incremental steps to getting there, were a long way off. If time proved their scenarios wrong, they’d be long forgotten anyway.