(Reuters) – The world’s biggest oil and gas companies have set varying targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their operations and the combustion of the products they sell.
On Tuesday, Shell won an appeal against a landmark 2021 ruling that required it to cut its absolute carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, including those caused by the use of its products.
Scientists say the world must cut greenhouse gas emissions by around 43% by 2030 from 2019 levels to stand any chance of meeting the 2015 Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
Direct comparisons of the oil companies’ climate plans are difficult as they emphasise different approaches to intensity-based targets and how to include greenhouse gases from the combustion of their fuels – known as Scope 3 emissions.
Intensity-based targets measure the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as methane and carbon dioxide, per unit of energy or barrel of oil and gas produced.
That means absolute emissions can rise even if the headline intensity metric falls – for example with the addition of renewables or biofuels to the product mix.
Reducing emissions will require a well-functioning market for carbon, the scaling up of carbon capture and storage technology, and the development of competitive uses of hydrogen, many of the companies have said.
The table below shows details by company (in alphabetical order).
Targets 2030 Absolute Intensity- 2050 Details
Scope 2030 based 2030 target
1+2 reduction reduction
reducti incl. Scope incl.
on 3 Scope 3
BP 50% vs 20%-30% vs 15%-20% vs net Has
2019 2019 2019 zero abandoned
(excludes (includes company goal to cut
fuel sold all fuel oil and gas
by BP but sold by BP output by
derived even if 25% by 2030
from oil derived vs 2019
produced by from oil
others) produced
by others)
Chevron 35% oil no 5% by 2028 net Guides more
and gas vs 2016 zero than 3%
upstrea Scope 1 annual
m and 2 growth of
intensi aspirat oil and gas
ty to ion output by
24 kg (upstre 2027
CO2e/bo am)
e by
2028 vs
2016
ConocoP 40%-50% no no Net Does not
hillips vs zero set any
2016 Scope 1 Scope 3
and 2 targets
Eni net 35% vs 2018 15% vs net Expects
zero (includes 2018 zero hydrocarbon
fuel sold (includes company production
by Eni fuel sold to grow
produced by by Eni 3%-4%/yr
others) produced between
by 2022 and
others) 2026 and
then stay
flat until
2030, with
gas
accounting
for 60% of
output by
then
Equinor 50% vs no 20% vs net Sees 2030
2015 2019 zero oil and gas
(operat company output on
ed par with
assets) 2022 when
it was
around 2
mln boed.
Expects oil
output to
grow to
2026, then
decline.
Exxon 20% no no net Does not
corpora zero set any
te-wide Scope 1 Scope 3
emissio and 2 targets
ns (or of
23 mln operate Add 500,000
t) vs d boed output
2016; assets by 2027 to
30% reach 4.2
reducti mln boed
on in
upstrea
m
busines
s (or
15 mln
t)
Repsol 55% vs 30% vs 2016 28% vs net Under
2016 by (excludes 2016 zero nations’
2025 fuel sold (excludes company currently
by Repsol fuel sold announced
but derived by Repsol climate
from oil but pledges,
produced by derived Repsol
others) from oil expects to
produced produce
by 350,000-400
others) ,000 boed
in 2050
Repsol
expects oil
refining to
fall
80%-90% by
2050
Shell 50% vs Ambition to 15% to 20% Net Has ruled
2016 reduce vs 2016 zero out setting
customer (includes company absolute
emissions all fuel emissions
from use of sold by cuts
oil Shell) targets for
products by 2030
15% to 20%
vs 2021
TotalEn 40% vs
ergies 2015 CO2e vs 389 2015 zero produce 1
(operat mln t CO2e company mln barrels
ed in 2022; (“toget per day of
assets) 40% vs 2015 her oil and gas
for oil with by 2050,
products society around a
(excludes “) quarter of
gas) 2030 output
(boed=barrels of oil equivalent per day)
NOTES:
1) Scope 1 refers to emissions from a company’s direct operations, such as a diesel generator on an offshore platform.
2) Scope 2 emissions include those from the power a company uses for its operations, and from its fleet of vehicles.
3) Scope 3 includes emissions from the combustion of the products a company sells, such as gasoline or jet fuel. Typically these account for over 90% of emissions at an integrated oil and gas firm.
(Written and compiled by America Hernandez; editing by Barbara Lewis and Tomasz Janowski)
