Equinor will slash investment in renewable energy while ramping up oil and gas production.

A Norwegian energy giant is cutting its investment in renewable energy in half and switching to oil and gas over the next two years. Equinor's chief executive Anders Opedal announced the policy as the transition to greener energy was moving more slowly than expected - and is getting more expensive.

French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies said Wednesday it would reduce its low-carbon energy investments while Norwegian peer Equinor scaled back its renewables ambitions as the companies reported sharp drops in annual profits.

Norwegian state-backed group Equinor cut its green targets to boost shareholder value. And France's TotalEnergies will invest less in low-carbon projects.