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* Will quit main U.S. refining lobby AFPM
* Says at odds over carbon pricing
* Shell, Total quit AFPM last year
* BP to remain in API
(Adds comments from environmental groups EDF, Greenpeace)
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - BP will leave the main
U.S. refining lobby and two other trade groups as new Chief
Executive Bernard Looney spurs some of the oil sector's most
ambitious targets for curbing carbon emissions.
BP said its view on carbon pricing and that of the American
Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) were "at odds and
currently we have no areas of full alignment."
"BP will pursue opportunities to work with organisations who
share our ambitious and progressive approach to the energy
transition," Looney said in a statement.
It will also not renew its membership in the Western States
Petroleum Association (WSPA) and Western Energy Alliance (WEA).
"AFPM is and has been committed to supporting policies that
address climate change," said AFPM Chief Executive Chet
Thompson. "Because of that, it leads us to assume that this
decision was made based on factors other than our actual
positions on the issues."
BP, one of the largest U.S. refiners and petrochemical
producers and fuel retailers, will remain a member of the
American Petroleum Institute, the country's largest energy
association.
That decision prompted criticism from Greenpeace U.K.
climate campaigner Mel Evans, who said API was the lobby group
that helped overturn U.S. methane restrictions.
BP has called for placing a price on carbon emissions in
order to push out the most polluting fossil fuel production
including coal and encourage investment in renewable energy.
Royal Dutch Shell and Total last year
both said they would not renew their memberships in the AFPM.
Oil and gas companies are under pressure from investors and
climate activists to meet the 2015 Paris climate goal of
limiting global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius from
pre-industrial levels.
"The industry’s response to climate change is the key
question that will define their performance and viability," Ben
Ratner, senior director at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) told
Reuters.
In response to the Paris accord, BP, Shell and others have
been investing in cleaner fuel technologies.
But the AFPM has opposed standards requiring refiners to
blend or subsidise the blending of biofuels into the gasoline
pool, saying it hurts independent refiners.
The AFPM has around 300 U.S. and international members
including Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp which operate 110
refineries and 229 petrochemical plants, its 2018 annual report
showed.
Exxon and Chevron did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
BP operates three U.S. refineries including the 430,000
barrels per day Whiting, Indiana plant, its largest.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla; editing by Jason
Neely and Bernadette Baum)
