The energy transition to renewable energy sources will be key to avoiding the worst effects of climate change. However, there are certain players in the economic world who have a vested interest in slowing down this transition. Toni Mata, Content and Media Director of 11Onze analyses this in a new edition of Energia.

It is no secret that the fossil fuel industry has much to gain from maintaining the status quo of our dependence on hydrocarbons. The industry’s lobbying against renewable energy policies and its disinformation campaigns are well known.

It has recently come to light that one of the world’s largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, has known since the late 1970s that burning fossil fuels would cause climate change. As Mata points out, “those reports were hidden in order to continue making money, while in public they said that climate change was an invention”.

Energy companies and banking

Some energy companies have been criticised for not investing enough in renewable energy and for opposing policies that would encourage the transition. Bearing in mind that the big banks are shareholders in 174 energy companies and that the energy crisis has pushed up the price of energy and, therefore, the profits of these companies, it is not surprising that they want to maintain their business model.

On the other hand, it is also true that there are banks and oil corporations that are investing in some of the large renewable energy projects, but as the content director explains, “it is probably more in the interest of continuing to control energy production and money than anything else”.

11Onze is the community fintech of Catalonia. Open an account by downloading the super app El Canut for Android or iOS and join the revolution!