Kategori : ELECTRICITY ENERGY NEWS, ENERGY AGENDA NEWS, ENERGY EFFICIENCY NEWS - Tarih : 22 May 2020

European oil majors have increased their ambitions to tackle climate change markedly in the last six months, with Total, Shell, BP, Repsol and Eni all having made commitments to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of the energy they supply.

The moves, encouraged by pressure from investors and consumers, mark a significant departure from their North American peers and the difference in approach seems likely to intensify in years to come. However, their claims to be aligned with the net zero targets that many countries are introducing are overstated, a new report claims.

The study, from the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI), a global program that assesses climate risks and companies’ preparedness for a low-carbon economy, assesses the recent climate change announcements of six European oil and gas majors.

“The European integrated oil and gas sector is changing rapidly. Three years ago, no company had set targets to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy they supply,” said Adam Matthews, co-chair of the Transition Pathway Initiative, and director of Ethics and Engagement for the Church of England Pensions Board. “Today all six oil and gas majors assessed by TPI have set such targets and we have seen significant progress in the past months, with companies engaging with the concept of net zero, adopting longer-term perspectives and setting more ambitious goals to accelerate the low-carbon transition.

The TPI, an investor initiative backed by more than $19 trillion of global capital, says that four of the companies – the Anglo-Dutch Shell, Eni of Italy, French group Total and Repsol of Spain, are now aligned with the emissions reductions pledged by the signatories to the Paris Agreement. BP and Austria’s OMV are now the only European companies who fail to align with the Paris pledges, it adds. OMV is the worst performer and needs to set a more demanding target, it continues.