Carbon commitments facing headwinds

摘要

SOME of the largest players in the oil and gas industry have in recent months set out ambitious targets to slash their greenhouse gas emissions and are relying on technology to help them get there. The severe market conditions brought on by the Covid-19 crisis and plummeting oil prices, however, have plunged the industry into survival mode, with heavy losses forcing companies to make dramatic budget cuts, reduce workforces and look for ways to conserve capital. The recent turn of events could prove to be a test of the industry's commitment to its stated goals. Will the market crash deliver a setback for the energy transition - or, as some hope, hasten the shift to a lower-carbon future? For now, the large oil and gas operators that have set emissions targets appear to be standing by them - and in some cases, vowing to up the ante, as Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell did last month when the company said it will aim for net-zero emissions by the year 2050, if not sooner. "With the Covid-19 pandemic having a serious impact on people's health and our economies, these are extraordinary times. Yet even at this time of immediate challenge, we must also maintain the focus on the long term," said chief executive Ben van Beurden. Shell joins its industry peers Eni of Italy and Spain's Repsol, which have also pledged net-zero emissions by mid-century. Net-zero targets mean the companies will not only need to make substantial cuts in the carbon footprints of their operations and emissions associated with the energy they consume - known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions - but also the emissions produced when customers use their products.