Many of the European oil majors are not in line with the UN-backed targets to combat global warming, media reports said. However, many oil companies have vowed to slash carbon emissions and boost the use of clean energy.
It is reported that the shares of oil majors such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell have scrambled for profits despite concerns over their potential to successfully remove oil and gas portfolio.
The reports indicate that out of the 59 major oil, gas and coal companies, companies such as Shell, Repsol, Total, Eni and Equinor, Glencore and Anglo American have vowed to follow the long-term goals floated by some governments to curb carbon emissions.
However, the reports indicated that the targets equate to global temperatures rising by 3.2 degrees and are widely regarded as insufficient to avert dangerous climate change.
Bill Hartnett, stewardship director of ESG Investment at Aberdeen Standard Investments, told the media, “We’re very happy that some oil and gas companies are seeing these fundamental changes and trying to respond. Some (companies) might have made bigger statements so far than the others and the important thing is the direction of travel. But none of them are making net zero yet.”
The reports said that BP, which plans to boost its renewable business by the end of this decade, is the least aligned European oil major towards the UN-backed targets.
The immediate action against climate change by global oil majors are important as temperature across the world is expected to surge in the future.