Fossil fuel demand to take historic knock amid COVID-19 scars -BP

(Reuters, 14 Sep 2020) As the pandemic leaves a lasting effect on global energy demand, fossil fuel consumption is set to shrink for the first time in modern history, predicts energy giant BP.

Fossil fuel consumption is set to shrink for the first time in modern history as climate policies boost renewable energy while the coronavirus epidemic leaves a lasting effect on global energy demand, BP said in a forecast.

BP's 2020 benchmark Energy Outlook underpins Chief Executive Bernard Looney's new strategy to "reinvent" the 111-year old oil and gas company by shifting renewables and power.

London-based BP expects global economic activity to only partially recover from the epidemic over the next few years as travel restrictions ease. But some "scarring effects" such as work from home will lead to slower growth in energy consumption.

BP this year extended its outlook into 2050 to align it with the company's strategy to slash the carbon emissions from its operations to net zero by the middle of the century.

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Reuters, 14 Sep 2020: Fossil fuel demand to take historic knock amid COVID-19 scars -BP