Thank you, committee.
Just as a general comment about energy futures, Mr. Clarke made comments around the need for diversification, and I think we would all agree that it is a valid point; however, we would like to state that the demand for energy in the world continues to grow, and hydrocarbons are going to be a continued significant part of the energy portfolio going forward to at least 2050. So the production of crude oil from the Canadian oil sands is replacing our declining conventional oil here in Canada and in North America. It is also displacing imported crudes into North America, and they're our direct competition. We need to be able to do that efficiently and economically, and as Mr. Carter has mentioned, a lot of resources are going into the efficiency of our business.
Shell is also investing in renewable energies. We have about $1 billion invested over the last five years in renewable energies through our Royal Dutch/Shell group, and this of course is solar, wind, and alternative fuels. This will be a diversification of the energy portfolio, but it does not displace the transport fuels component, which is predominately met by hydrocarbons. Looking forward into the future, we'll continue to be met by hydrocarbons.
So it is a different energy mix that alternatives bring. It's about electricity and off-grid applications, but it doesn't displace transport fuels.