The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp house four of the six largest crude oil refineries in Europe. Their owners, among them Shell, BP, Total and ExxonMobil, are planning to make their factories carbon-neutral by 2050 as the EU phases out fossil fuels to combat climate change.
However, the refineries have no plans from stopping the production of fossil transport fuels like diesel, gasoline, kerosine, LPG or heavy fuel oil. As long as they export their oil products, the production of fossil fuels is allowed by current climate policies. Even in 2050 they plan to refine large amounts of crude oil, and export them to countries that haven’t made the energy transition just yet - most likely climate-vulnerable countries in the Global South. For climate change it doesn't matter where the carbon dioxide is emitted.
These oil refineries together are expected to maintain 49 to 74 percent of current fossil production levels. In the next 25 years the plans add up to 1.3 million kilotons of oil products.
Image: The Future of the Oil City of Rotterdam (c) Vers Beton, Yassmina Berrag
