Oil Majors' "Net Zero" Plans - A Meaningless Exercise In "Uh, Whatever"
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Oil company climate plans seek “net” zero emissions for a reason—because they don’t want to give up on the idea that they can continue to extract, refine and burn fossil fuels in the future, and still maintain a livable planet. With a “net” zero plan, oil companies don’t necessarily have to transition to become 100 percent renewable energy companies—because they can make up for their emissions by purchasing carbon offsets, or having emissions absorbed by carbon capture technology or natural carbon sinks.
This is how most climate plans work. The problem, however, with these European oil company climate plans is that they never actually say how much carbon capture they plan to rely on, or which technologies they plan to use, TPI’s report notes. That makes it really hard to assess how much fossil fuel these companies plan to produce in the future, and whether their expectations that their emissions can be captured is technologically realistic. “Most emissions targets are disclosed on a ‘net’ basis to reflect the use of ‘carbon sinks’ (CCS plus offsets), but rarely is the contribution of carbon sinks to either reported emissions or the target given,” the report says. TPI recommends oil companies disclose the “intended contribution of both CCS and offsets,” as it “will help investors assess the credibility of long-term emissions targets.”
The shady fine print
HEATED’s trusty research assistant, Chris May, also took a look at Shell’s climate plan independent of Tuesday’s report. He found that the legal disclaimers about Shell’s climate promises are nearly as long as the plan itself, designed to make sure the company can’t be held accountable by investors if it doesn’t live up to its promises.
For instance, in the ubiquitous legal disclaimers on its website and materials for investors, Shell says “The use of the term Shell’s ‘Net Carbon Footprint’ is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell or its subsidiaries.” It goes on to say, “It is important to note that as of April 30, 2020, Shell’s operating plans and budgets do not reflect Shell’s Net-Zero Emissions ambition. Shell’s aim is that, in the future, its operating plans and budgets will change to reflect this movement towards its new Net-Zero Emissions ambition.”
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https://heated.world/p/big-oils-climate-bologna