Big Oil, big risk in the long term?

Even during a price slump, the threats to oil’s longevity are mounting

THE SIGNING of the Paris climate change agreement by 175 countries in New York on 22 April should be warning enough to oil companies that a “business as usual” approach is no longer an option. By the end of this year, the deal is expected to be well on the way to ratification – the next major step after this signing – by enough countries to bring it into force. The world’s largest polluters, the US and China, are expected to be among them. For the deal to become operational, 55 countries accounting for at least 55% of global emissions need to ratify and enshrine it into national law. The complexities of ratification will vary from country to country. In some, such as the US, it will just req