Oil major BP confirms finance chief appointment
Oil major BP confirms finance chief appointment | Windpower Monthly
BP has confirmed the appointment of Kate Thomson as its chief financial officer (CFO) on a permanent basis as the oil major reshuffles its senior management team after CEO Bernard Looney quit the company last year.
Thomson had served as interim CFO since September 2023 when she replaced Murray Auchincloss, who has since been appointed as CEO on a permanent basis.
She has been with BP for 19 years and was the company’s senior vice president of finance for production and operations before being appointed interim finance chief.
BP chair Helge Lund said: “She has a detailed understanding of BP and the energy and finance sectors, combined with deep technical expertise.
“Her record of finance leadership together with her performance as interim CFO have clearly demonstrated her suitability to become BP’s permanent CFO.”
BP aims to reach zero emissions on an absolute basis by 2050– though the company has not explained how it will do this while still sourcing oil and gas, and without the use of offsetting.
It aims to have developed 50GW (net share) of renewable assets 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Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”