“It is unrealistic to suggest that renewables could replace conventional baseload fuels. “–Gregory Boyce, former CEO Peabody Energy Corp., 2010. Every time an oil and gas major announces a major foray into renewable energy, the skeptics come out like clockwork and lambast the sector for merely trying to burnish its green credentials. Sometimes the criticism appears undeserved because the Oil Majors have actually invested billions of dollars into the clean energy sector over the past decade and have lined up plans to invest billions more in the 2020s. But here’s why the criticism sticks anyway: The most ambitious pledges by Big Oil to pursue net-zero agendas have remained inconsistent or half-hearted at best. Let this sink in: In 2018, Big Oil spent less than 1% of its combined budget on green energy projects. An analysis of near-term spending plans on renewables by the biggest oil and gas companies reveals […]