“We are neither retardists nor denialists. We are activists in the fight against climate change and we demonstrate it every day in our effort to decarbonize the industry, but it is necessary to change European and Spanish policies so that the ecological transition does not harm the European industry,” the president warned this Friday. of Repsol, Antonio Brufau, during his speech at the company’s shareholders meeting held today in Madrid
Brufau has charged against the climate policy of the European Union. “The mantra installed in the legislation that electrification will solve the problems of decarbonization is a real mistake,” he said. The manager recalled that this policy has been especially harmful to the industry, which has forced it to compete with the rest. in the world with a much higher energy cost. According to the data presented to shareholders, Europe is very far from meeting the objective it had set for industry to contribute 20% of the Union’s GDP.
An effort that has had a significant impact on the weight of this region in world GDP, which has gone from 21.90% in 2010 to 17.51% in 2023, while its large competitors have increased their weight. The US has gone from 22.62% to 26.11% and China has shot up from 9.07% to 16.85%.
Despite this, the first director of the multi-energy company has celebrated that the Union has opened its eyes to this reality and in the latest regulations of the commission is beginning to talk about the need to bet on other decarbonization technologies such as biofuels.
A bet that Repsol is also betting on and will continue because electrification barely accounts for 23% of demand and decarbonization pathways are needed for the remaining 77%. The update of the strategic plan that Josu Jon Imaz presented this Friday goes along those lines,
In it, it commits to focus 90% of its activity in OECD countries, avoiding the country risk of previous times of the company and will focus on maximizing the profitability of current portfolios by putting a stop to the policy of new acquisitions that have been the protagonists of the day. company day in recent years. At the same time, it includes an investment commitment of 16,000 and 19,000 million euros until 2027, 60% in the Iberian Peninsula, “if legislation allows it,” warns Imaz.
Imaz, like the president, Antonio Brufau, has celebrated that the European Union has “become aware of the mistakes of the past and in its legislation is beginning to take renewable gases into account as a way to decarbonization.” The manager has confirmed that over the next three years, the company will invest 130 million euros in R&D projects focused on technology, of which 55% will be focused on promoting the decarbonization of liquid fuels and he is confident that this part of the business contributes around 800 million euros annually in cash.
“We are moving forward with firm steps to transform the company for the decarbonized environment of 2040, committed to the industrial fabric of the Iberian Peninsula and always generating profitability for shareholders. The limit will be technology, not ideology,” Imaz warned.
The president of Repsol, Antonio Brufau, focused his speech at the company’s shareholders meeting held today in Madrid on attacking the European Union’s climate policy. “The mantra installed in the legislation that electrification will solve the problems of decarbonization is a real mistake,” he said.
