BP chief executive vows to stick to green agenda ahead of G8 summit

Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, will reinforce the oil giant's commitment to its alternative energy strategy in a speech in Berlin today ahead of the G8 summit, quelling fears that the recently anointed head of the company was set to abandon the "Beyond Petroleum" strategy of his predecessor.

Speculation has been mounting that Mr Hayward was less keen than his predecessor on making BP a green energy company in the wake of its decision to scrap plans to build a carbon capture centre in Scotland in late May. There have been suggestions that he might also look to dispense with the "Beyond Petroleum" slogan that is closely associated with Lord Browne of Madingley, who quit the company last month.

It is understood that Mr Hayward will look to quell that speculation when addressing world and business leaders, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, in Berlin. It will be the first time Mr Hayward has addressed a major public event since he took over from Lord Browne and he is expected to reiterate the company's intention to invest £4bn in alternative energy.

He will call on governments to provide short-term transitional incentives for companies to invest in technology to limit carbon emissions and move away from relying on subsidies to encourage companies to reduce their environmental impact.

Mr Hayward favours a market-driven approach to emissions trading in contrast to Gordon Brown's plan to establish a global carbon trading authority. The BP chief will argue that local or regional trading platforms should be set up and over time, those agencies will link up globally, mirroring recent merger activity amongst stock exchanges.

Mark Moody-Stuart, the chairman of mining giant Anglo American, will share the podium with Mr Hayward and is expected to echo the BP chief's call for a market-driven carbon trading system.

BP's environmental credentials have taken a knock over the past few years after scandals in the US related to its Alaskan pipeline and an explosion at its Texas refinery in 2005 that killed 15 people.

The company said its decision to pull out of the carbon capture project in Peterhead, Scotland last month was a result of the UK government's decision to delay a decision on how to subsidise such projects.

BP had already invested £25m in the plant and said that it remained committed to carbon capture, pointing to similar investments in Australia and California.