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CHEVRON’S EMISSIONS ‘ASPIRATION’: U.S. oil and gas major Chevron is for the first time setting a near-term pledge to cut Scope 3 emissions intensity, that is, pollution coming from the use of the fuel it makes and sells to customers.
Chevron is also adopting a longer-term net-zero emissions “aspiration” for 2050, but that only includes its operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2) and excludes Scope 3, the vast majority of an oil and gas company’s emissions (up to 90% of them).
Combined, the announcements today amount to “positive steps” according to Andrew Logan, senior director of oil and gas at Ceres, a group focusing on corporate sustainability.
They represent a departure from Chevron’s previous position on net-zero pledges (which they deemed as symbolic) and short-term Scope 3 targets, as the company previously claimed not to have control over their supply chain and customer use of products.
But they fall short of the “giant leap” investors asked for, Logan said.
Indeed, Chevron is only acting on Scope 3 intensity after 61% of its investors voted for a climate resolution in May calling on the company to reduce those emissions.
In response, Chevron today set a target to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations and products (encompassing Scope 3) by 5% by 2028 compared to 2016 levels. Emissions intensity represents the amount of emissions per unit of energy, and using that measure as a target still allows for increases in absolute emissions.
Ben Ratner, who leads the Environmental Defense Fund’s Business Energy Transition team, told Josh that Chevron’s 5% emissions intensity target, amounting to half a percent per year, falls woefully short from what investors asked for.
“The shareholders that voted for substantial reduction in Scope 3 emissions are likely to be disappointed by a target of half-percent year in emission reductions,” Ratner said.
Mark van Baal, founder of shareholder group Follow This that filed the climate resolution, called the 5% intensity target “a snub to investors who are truly committed to reaching the Paris Agreement.” The world needs to reduce absolute emissions by around 40% by 2030 to have any chance to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the group added.
Longer-range net-zero targets, meanwhile, are simply par for the course at this point. Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil and gas company, is beating its larger peer, ExxonMobil, in taking the net-zero plunge. Exxon, facing its own shareholder pressure after a board shakeup this spring, is reportedly considering pledging to reduce its net carbon emissions to zero by 2050.
But large European majors Shell and BP include Scope 3 in their net-zero pledges. By not doing so, the shareholder group Follow This says “Chevron is like a tobacco firm that promises to quit smoking, while continuing to produce cigarettes.”
Welcome to Daily on Energy, written by Washington Examiner Energy and Environment Writers Josh Siegel (@SiegelScribe) and Jeremy Beaman (@jeremywbeaman). Email [email protected] or [email protected] for tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. If a friend sent this to you and you’d like to sign up, click here. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list.
PLEASE WELCOME JEREMY BEAMAN: Please welcome Jeremy to the Daily on Energy team.
Jeremy comes to the energy and environment beat from the Washington Examiner’s breaking news team. He’s begun working on energy stories in recent weeks — perhaps you saw his story on Pittsburgh’s new “Dark Sky” ordinance or his piece on the threat to U.S. supply chains from China’s energy problems — but he officially starts on the beat today.
Jeremy’s from Alabama and studied at the University of Mobile. Please welcome him to the team and keep him in mind for any tips or feedback: @jeremywbeaman and [email protected].
US OIL PRICE TOPS $80 A BARREL: The U.S. benchmark oil price rose to a seven year-high of more than $81 per barrel this morning as the global energy supply crunch deepens.
A worldwide shortage of natural gas and resulting higher prices to heat and power homes is showing signs of spilling into the oil market, analysts say.
Crude oil “started the week on a strong footing as the global power crunch continues to raise expectations for higher gas-to-oil switching,” Saxo Bank said in a note.
Another factor causing higher prices is the OPEC+ group of oil-producing nations ignored calls last week from the U.S. to increase output beyond what it already has planned despite tight global supply and recovering demand from the pandemic.
MORE COUNTRIES SIGN ON TO GLOBAL METHANE PLEDGE: An additional 24 nations have signed on to the U.S.-EU-led Global Methane Pledge to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas by at least 30% by 2030.
Indonesia, Pakistan, OPEC member Nigeria, and a host of other African nations are among the new commitments, and more than 60% of the global economy is now represented in those who have joined the pledge.
“We are excited about the rapid response and general acceptance of the proposition here,” climate envoy John Kerry said during an event this morning.
Kerry called cutting methane emissions the “single fastest strategy we have to keep” to reach the Paris Agreement target of holding warming to 1.5 degrees celsius.
Philanthropy puts up its dollars: Twenty major philanthropic organizations, including Bloomberg Philanthropies and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, announced plans to support the global methane reduction efforts with more than more than $223 million in funding.
“Methane is a leading cause of climate change, and stopping methane leaks and reducing emissions faster is imperative,” said Michael Bloomberg, who is the U.N. Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions. “Our foundation is deeply committed to helping countries around the world reduce their fossil fuel emissions, and the more we all work together, the bigger impact we can have.”
CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE FLOOD RISK QUANTIFIED: A new report from climate change research firm First Street Foundation estimates that about a quarter of the nation’s critical infrastructure, including utilities, airports, and emergency services, are at risk from flooding.
Four southern states — Louisiana, Florida, Kentucky, and West Virginia — contain 17 of the nation’s 20 most at-risk counties, according to the findings.
The report stands alongside bipartisan initiatives in Congress to respond to these vulnerabilities by making electricity transmission lines and other parts of the energy system more resilient to extreme weather. Lawmakers and the researchers both have noted the summer’s extreme weather events across New England and the Southeast as reinforcing the necessity to act.
“As we saw following the devastation of Hurricane Ida, our nation’s infrastructure is not built to a standard that protects against the level of flood risk we face today, let alone how those risks will grow over the next 30 years as the climate changes,” Matthew Eby, founder and executive director of First Street Foundation, said in a statement.
SOLAR COMING FOR YOU: The Energy Department announced plans Friday to boost “community solar,” a type of development providing access to people unable to install panels on their roofs, either because they can’t afford it, aren’t homeowners, or live in multi-unit buildings.
Community solar is a form of energy generation by which households can subscribe to power from a nearby solar project. Subscribers receive a portion of the revenue from the energy produced, typically as savings on their monthly electric bill.
DOE is launching the “National Community Solar Partnership (NCSP)” which brings together the agency, developers, local and state governments, and more to expand access to affordable community solar to “every American household.”
DOE is targeting installing enough community solar systems to power the equivalent of five million households by 2025.
COMPANY TARGETS FARM METHANE WITH ARTIFICIAL LIGHTNING: A Norway-based firm is using a blast of plasma to break up ammonia and reduce greenhouse gases emitted by livestock manure.
N2 Applied set up its plasma gun on a farm in the United Kingdom where it tested the technology, achieving a 99% reduction in methane with the process, BBC reports.
The technology also targets ammonia molecules in the waste to generate pure nitrogen, a key fertilizer for farmers, and reduces stench.
The Rundown
Reuters China rust-belt province warns of more shortages in energy crisis
Bloomberg In a world fighting climate change, fossil fuels take revenge
Wall Street Journal California’s Huntington Beach reopens following oil spill
Calendar
TUESDAY | OCT. 19
10 a.m. 366 Dirksen. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to consider the nominations of Willie Phillips to be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Brad Crabtree to be an Assistant Secretary of Energy for fossil energy and carbon management, and Charles Sams III to be director of the National Park Service.
