The Guardian admits error in BP energy outlook coverage

The Guardian has corrected a key mistake in its reporting on BP’s annual energy outlook, after misquoting figures on future gas demand in a way that risked trivialising the scale of the challenge.

In its 26 September article, “BP suggests net zero will not be met as it raises oil targets,” the paper wrote that natural gas demand could reach 4,806 cubic metres a year in 2050, up from a previous estimate of 4,729 cubic metres. The correct figures, as later acknowledged, were 4,806 billion cubic metres and 4,729 billion cubic metres.

On first reading, the error stripped away the enormity of the projections. Instead of suggesting a multitrillion-litre global demand for natural gas, the article left the impression of a minor, almost household-scale figure. In coverage that already framed BP’s conclusions as undermining the world’s net zero ambitions, such a misprint risked distorting the perception of scale among policymakers and readers.

The Guardian’s published correction read: “This article was amended on 26 September 2025. An earlier version incorrectly referred to BP’s estimate of annual natural gas demand in 2050 as rising from 4,729 cubic metres to 4,806 cubic metres. These figures should have been 4,729 billion cubic metres and 4,806 billion cubic metres, respectively.”

Critics argue that, in the heated debate over fossil fuel futures, precision matters. Reporting errors, even when corrected, can be seized on either by environmental campaigners pressing urgency or by industry voices seeking to cast doubt on climate reporting altogether.

The Guardian’s misstep underscores how technical details — the difference of a single word like “billion” — can significantly alter public understanding of the energy transition at a moment when every tonne of carbon and every barrel of oil is under scrutiny.