Total turns TotalEnergies as oil & gas giant sets out stall as 'green energy major'

Oil & gas supermajor Total finalised its change of name to TotalEnergies as its CEO said it aims to “become a sort of green energy major”.

The French group has over the last two years emerged as one of the frontrunners among oil & gas groups in terms of embrace of renewable energy, with a 100GW gross target for 2030 that is among the largest of any player globally.

That has already seen it take big positions in solar in the US, Spain and India, and in offshore wind in the UK and most recently Taiwan.

The oil & gas group, which like European peers has set 2050 corporate net zero goals, said it will allocate 20% of net investments to renewables and “low carbon power” this year. That should equate to $2.4bn, up from $2bn in 2020.

But the name change is also certain to attract claims of 'greenwashing', given that even its high level of ambition compared to most of its rivals would still leave TotalEnergies devoting the lion's share of investment to fossil-related activities by the end of the decade.

Shell was told by a Dutch court to massively ramp-up its own decarbonisation agenda, while US giants ExxonMobil and Chevron both came under pressure from investors.