Outgoing chief executive Bernard Looney presided over plans to cut fossil fuel output by end of decade

BP’s climate goals must not “evaporate” along with another chief executive, campaign groups have said after the shock resignation of Bernard Looney.

The chief executive is stepping down after three years at the helm of Britain’s biggest petroleum company after failing to disclose full details of relationships with colleagues, although many old-school shareholders had also reportedly been putting pressure on him over his plans for a net zero energy transition by 2050.