"We cannot have the two at the same time: a choice must be made," Vettier added. Fuel emission controls force refiners to hydrogenate their products, and production of hydrogen for industrial purposes increases CO2 emissions, he said.

The oil business has come under fire this week from environmentalists after opposition from the United States and OPEC oil exporters forced the European Union to abandon its insistence on setting targets to boost the use of renewable energy sources.

Vettier did not see consumers making much of a switch away from oil products to renewable fuels as the main transportation fuel over the next decade.

"Ninety-eight percent of worldwide automotive fuels were produced in a crude oil refinery. This share might decrease slightly during the next two decades, but it will remain over 90 percent, no doubt!" Vettier said.

A more effective contribution to the environment would be to reduce consumption of coal in countries such as China, he added.

Tougher fuel standards have already helped the European oil industry reduce emissions and improve air quality, Vettier said.

"The air in our European cities has never been as clean as it is today since the beginning of the industrial age," he said.