Big Oil Has a Long Way to Go on Setting Emissions Targets
Very few of global warming’s biggest perpetrators are making progress, or even trying.
Photographer: Emiliano Lasalvia/AFP
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Just five of the 39 largest oil and gas companies have announced carbon-reduction targets that match levels needed to avoid a 2-degree Celsius temperature increase. And only 20 have taken initial steps to disclose how they plan to lower emissions produced by both their operations and electricity use, known respectively as Scope 1 and Scope 2.
Put those facts together and it may seem like most of the world’s biggest polluters aren’t serious about climate change. The list of passive offenders includes four of the top-five ranked energy companies by stock market value: Chevron Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., PetroChina Co. and Saudi Aramco.
Eni SpA, Total SA, Reliance Industries Ltd., Galp Energia SGPS SA and Woodside Petroleum Ltd. are the only companies that have targets in-line with the International Energy Agency’s Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS) for 2030, said Eric Kane, senior ESG analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, which has introduced a “carbon transition score” to evaluate, compare and rank how companies are cutting their carbon intensity. On Tuesday, Occidental Petroleum Corp. became the first major U.S. oil producer to aim for net zero emissions from everything it extracts and sells.