Friday 18 December 2020
Eight energy majors agree on six ‘energy transition principles’ towards net zero
Eight energy companies including Royal Dutch Shell, Total, BP, Equinor and Eni have agreed to apply six 'energy transition principles' to their operations to support their net zero journey.
In a joint statement, the signatories said the principles underpin industry's acceleration to contribute to the Paris Agreement objectives by delivering progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, the role of carbon sinks, the transparency and alignment on climate change with trade associations.
More specifically, energy companies agreed to publicly support the goals of the Paris Agreement and work for industry decarbonisation and energy system collaboration.
That includes a commitment to reducing emissions from their own operations and from the use of energy.
They will also continue to support and promote the development of emissions sinks such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology and natural sinks.
The firms also plan to provide transparency in climate change risks and report information about their memberships and trade associations and their alignment with the companies’ climate policy.
The Chief Executive Officers of the participating companies said: "Meeting the challenge of tackling climate change requires unprecedented collaboration between energy companies, governments, investors and other stakeholders. The principles will act as a framework for actions leading energy companies are taking together, as well as a platform for collaborating with wider stakeholders."
Adam Matthews, Chair of the Climate Action 100+ European Investor Working Group on a Net Zero Standard, said: “This is an important foundational commitment. It represents a significant consolidation of the progress that has been made in Europe whilst also seeing the first US oil and gas company joining with their European peers."
Anne Simpson, Climate Action 100+ Board Member from CalPERs, said: “We welcome the 'Energy Transition Principles' which focus industry attention not just on what each company needs to do alone, but what all must do together. This cross-sector work will be vital to achieving the goal of net zero emissions in the real economy by 2050 or sooner.”
