Bp Social Issues

BP is a British-based multinational oil company, and is currently the third largest energy company in the world. BP contribute £7.7 billion to the UK economy on jobs alone, and contribute £8.4 billion into the UK GDP. They employ 85,000 people worldwide, 18,000 of which are in the UK. From June 2014 to June 2015, BP͛s total revenue was $283 billion - $44 billion of which was profit. The majority of this profit comes from producing and selling fossil fuels worldwide.Climate change is a controversial topic that has been under discussion for several decades. While there are multiple potential causes, the main consensus is that climate change is a result of human activity, particularly in relation to the use of fossil fuels and the emission of

For example...BP take part in an operating cost and emission pricing scheme, paying $40 per ton of CO2produced in Europe, China, and California. This acts as an incentive to energy companies to be more efficient, and to produce lower overall amounts of CO2, though this only applies to energy produced in the countries taking part in the scheme. Governments can attend summits such as the Kyoto Summit, which was in 1997. Countries taking part pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ͚a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system͛. However, a downside of this is that some of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions did not join the summit. The US is the second largest contributor of CO2in the world, and is also home to the two largest contributors, Chevron and ExxonMobil, yet they chose not to attend. Canada withdrew from the agreement in 2012, and now the terms of the summit are mostly outdated. There is also some evidence to suggest that deliberate emissions reduction measures are not the only thing that can have an effect on

Also cuts to a business as large as BP could have a negative impact, as they contribute a large amount to the UK economy, and employ 18,000 people in this country. That being said, BP is still making an effort to reduce their emissions. From 2011 to 2014, BP͛s direct greenhouse gas emissions fell from 64.9 million tonnes to 48.6, and other areas such as direct methane emissions are showing progress on a similar scale. However, one energy company reducing its emissions does not have a huge impact on global climate. In order to have a large impact on climate change, it is up to government bodies to introduce rules and legislation that applies to all energy companies operating in their countries to reduce climate change impact in a big way, rather than a single company acting alone. Governments can attend summits such as the Kyoto Summit, which was in 1997. Countries taking part pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ͚a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate