BP chief executive Bernard Looney resigns over past relationships with colleagues - ABC News
BP chief Bernard Looney resigns over past relationships with colleagues - ABC News
LONDON -- The CEO of British energy giant BP has resigned after he accepted that he was not “fully transparent” in his disclosures about past relationships with colleagues, the company said Tuesday.
Bernard Looney, 53, took on the role in February 2020. He is stepping down with immediate effect and will be replaced by Chief Financial Officer Murray Auchincloss on an interim basis, BP said.
A statement from the firm said its board reviewed allegations relating to Looney's conduct “in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues" in May last year. The executive disclosed a small number of past relationships prior to becoming CEO and no breach of company rules was found, the statement said.
But the company recently received further similar allegations and launched another investigation. The statement said Looney “now accepts he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures."
“The company has strong values and the board expects everyone at the company to behave in accordance with those values. All leaders in particular are expected to act as role models and to exercise good judgement in a way that earns the trust of others," it added.
BP said no decisions have yet been made regarding any remuneration payments to be made to Looney.
Looney had spent his entire career at BP, having joined as an engineer in 1991. As CEO he pledged that BP would aim to achieve “net zero” or carbon neutrality by 2050. He had also said that the oil giant would increase the amount it invests in low-carbon projects tenfold by 2030.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”