The ambitions of European oil and gas majors have gained much praise, with Total, Shell, BP, Repsol and Eni all stating they will significantly reduce the carbon intensity of the energy they supply. However not all ambitions are equal, and some will fall short in their approaches unless action is taken.

A new analysis from the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) – an investor initiative backed by over $19tr of global capital - shows that the four oil and gas majors of Shell, Eni, Total, Repsol are now aligned with the emissions reductions pledged by the signatories to the Paris Agreement. BP and OMV are now the only European companies who fail to align with the Paris pledges.

However, despite these commitments, none of the companies are aligned yet with complete net-zero or 1.5C pathways. TPI calculates that the average European oil and gas company would need to cut its emissions intensity by over 70 per cent between 2018 and 2050 to align with a 2C climate scenario by 2050. A genuine net-zero strategy would, of course, require a 100 per cent cut in absolute emissions. Even the most ambitious new targets fall far short of this.

Adam Matthews, co-chair of TPI, and director of ethics and engagement for the Church of England Pensions Board, said: “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. TPI’s analysis underlines that these commitments are not all equal in ambition or in scope and deeper decarbonisation is needed to align with a 1.5C or even a 2C scenario. Shell and Eni are leaders and Shell have introduced a new concept of not selling energy to customers that are not also aligned to net zero pathways in key sectors such as aviation, shipping and freight. This warrants further analysis to quantify the emissions reductions of such an approach.”

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