Extinction Rebellion has targeted BP with protests against its sponsorship of the National Portrait Gallery

There is an “80 per cent overlap” between the ambitions of BP and Extinction Rebellion, the oil major’s chief financial officer has claimed.

Brian Gilvary said yesterday that BP agreed with the climate change campaign group that the world was not acting quickly enough to tackle global warming. He said that he expected Bernard Looney, BP’s incoming chief executive, to “lean into the energy transition” and unveil a new strategy by around July next year.

BP’s annual carbon footprint from its operations and the use of its products by its customers is greater than that of Britain. It has made tentative moves into renewable energy and its investment in low-carbon technologies accounts for about $500 million of its annual $16 billion capital expenditure.

The company