Norwegian energy company shifts focus back to oil and gas

Norwegian energy giant Equinor is cutting its renewable energy investments in half over the next two years while boosting oil and gas production by 10%.

Simon Jack reports for BBC.

In short:

Equinor will reduce its renewable investments to $5 billion from $10 billion, citing slow returns and hesitant buyers, while abandoning a pledge to allocate half its fixed assets budget to renewables by 2030.
The company remains committed to the controversial Rosebank oil field in the North Sea, despite a court ruling that its environmental impact assessment was inadequate.
CEO Anders Opedal warned that low European gas storage levels and increased demand from China could drive up gas prices next winter.

Key quote:

“We are scaling down our investments in renewables and low carbon solutions because we don't see the necessary profitability in the future.”

— Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor

Why this matters:

Equinor’s shift reflects a broader trend of oil majors pulling back from renewable energy, raising concerns about the pace of the global energy transition. Increased fossil fuel production could slow efforts to cut carbon emissions, while rising gas prices may strain consumers and economies.

www.bbc.com

Credit: Pierre Lemos / Unsplash+

Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species

In a recent review published in NPJ Emerging Contaminants, researchers examine how toxic chemicals can reduce fertility in both humans and wildlife, and how these effects are worsened by climate change.

In short:

Animals - including insects, fish, reptiles, birds, humans, and other mammals - are constantly simultaneously exposed to synthetic chemicals and the impacts of climate change, including rising temperatures.
Both of these stressors can harm fertility, and many of the impacts found are similar across species, such as effects on sperm and eggs.
The stress caused by these exposures also impacts overall health, harming animals’ ability to adapt to a changing environment and worsening global biodiversity loss.

Key quote:

“To build a sustainable future, we must recognize that chemicals, once released, don’t simply disappear. Instead, they contribute to the larger issue of driving humanity towards the exceedance of planetary boundaries when considered in combination with climate change and other planetary-level impacts.”

Why this matters:

While climate change and toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are both individually well-established as health threats, few studies have examined the implications of the widespread simultaneous exposure experienced by humans and wildlife. Many EDCs can also impact health across multiple generations, meaning their harm continues long after the original exposure. To better tackle the issue of EDCs, the authors of this study emphasize the need for strong regulations that address chemicals by class, rather than individually.

Related EHN coverage:

Declining PFAS levels in seabird eggs reflect impact of regulatory action
Op-ed: A stalled global plastic treaty threatens our future fertility (written by two of the lead authors of the above study)

More resources:

ChemTrust: Wildlife and the environment – Endocrine disruptors
Stockholm Resilience Center: Planetary Boundaries: The safe operating space for humanity

Brander, S. et al. (2026). Impacts of environmental stressors on fertility and fecundity across taxa, with implications for planetary health. NPJ Emerging Contaminants.

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Norwegian energy company shifts focus back to oil and gas

Toxic chemicals and climate change work together to harm fertility across species

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