This piece clearly exposes the core issue: oil and gas companies are not just failing to transition; they are structurally incapable of doing so under their current profit-driven model.
The fact that renewable energy (economically stable and environmentally safer) does not allow for “super-profits” is exactly why oil giants are not interested. Their profit depends on volatile markets, consumer exploitation, and environmental degradation, not stability or sustainability.
Sustainability is not their favourite word and quite frankly not a concern to them.
It is sobering to think that in the early industrial age, energy was seen as a public good which was meant to power society, not punish it. Public utilities, cooperatives, and even early oil discoveries were treated with the belief that energy should uplift nations. As meant to be. But as corporations took control, the mission shifted from service to shareholders. What started as a tool for development became a mechanism for dominance. For power.
I think it is time we stop expecting oil companies to lead a transition that they are financially incentivized to avoid. Yes, avoid. Instead, governments and communities must shift resources and policies to scale renewables, enforce transparency, and break the toxic dependency on hydrocarbons.
In places like Africa, this shift has come at a huge cost: despite being rich in resources, many communities still live in energy poverty, while oil wealth fuels inequality, corruption, and environmental degradation. Growing up around this, I’ve seen how oil can build shiny cities for the few while leaving entire regions in darkness.
The future belongs to systems designed for people and planet, not for quarterly profit margins.
Energy justice (if we can say it this way) must be more than a slogan. It must be the new system we build.
This piece clearly exposes the core issue: oil and gas companies are not just failing to transition; they are structurally incapable of doing so under their current profit-driven model.
The fact that renewable energy (economically stable and environmentally safer) does not allow for “super-profits” is exactly why oil giants are not interested. Their profit depends on volatile markets, consumer exploitation, and environmental degradation, not stability or sustainability.
Sustainability is not their favourite word and quite frankly not a concern to them.
It is sobering to think that in the early industrial age, energy was seen as a public good which was meant to power society, not punish it. Public utilities, cooperatives, and even early oil discoveries were treated with the belief that energy should uplift nations. As meant to be. But as corporations took control, the mission shifted from service to shareholders. What started as a tool for development became a mechanism for dominance. For power.
I think it is time we stop expecting oil companies to lead a transition that they are financially incentivized to avoid. Yes, avoid. Instead, governments and communities must shift resources and policies to scale renewables, enforce transparency, and break the toxic dependency on hydrocarbons.
In places like Africa, this shift has come at a huge cost: despite being rich in resources, many communities still live in energy poverty, while oil wealth fuels inequality, corruption, and environmental degradation. Growing up around this, I’ve seen how oil can build shiny cities for the few while leaving entire regions in darkness.
The future belongs to systems designed for people and planet, not for quarterly profit margins.
Energy justice (if we can say it this way) must be more than a slogan. It must be the new system we build.