Statement
Find below reaction to the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) statement released today on national oil companies like Saudi Aramco joining its coalition of oil majors in pledging to cut emissions at their own operations through ‘carbon intensity’ targets. The CEO-led consortium says it aims to accelerate the industry response to climate change and says its members explicitly support the Paris Agreement and its goals.
Andrew Grant, Head of Oil, Gas & Mining at Carbon Tracker said:
“National oil companies have been the missing piece of the puzzle on emissions, so it’s good to see them coming to the table. Having some targets to reduce carbon pollution is better than none. But the industry can never consider itself “aligned” with the Paris goals when business plans assume steady investment in fossil fuel production on a planet with absolute limits. This target is based on intensity, so it allows increases in emissions overall, and a group average may let poor performers off the hook. Furthermore it only applies to a small proportion of emissions; a 13% reduction in upstream emissions translates to only a 2% reduction in lifecycle CO2 for oil & gas.”
Mark Campanale Founder & Executive Director of Carbon Tracker said:
“OGCI is an important industry bridge that brings together key players in the oil & gas sector to address the climate challenge. So it’s for this reason that we welcome attempts to reduce emissions, for example flaring and methane leakage. But the initiative cannot, however, ignore the real and glaring issue facing its members, namely commitments for absolute reductions in emissions. This means doing the serious accounting work necessary for writing down fossil fuel assets – what we call the carbon bubble overhang – such as we’ve seen from BP and Repsol. Here we hope that OGCI can show similar leadership and commence with that real discussion, with the clear urgency the climate crisis demands.”
OGCI members are as follows: https://oilandgasclimateinitiative.com/about-us/#members
Ends
