The leaders of the world’s 10 largest oil and gas companies, gathered in Paris on Saturday, have vowed to do their best against climate change.
The chief executive officers of 10 companies – which together provide almost a fifth of all oil and gas production and supply nearly 10% of the world’s energy – declared their collective support for an effective climate change agreement to be reached at next month’s 21st session of the United Nations (UN) Conference of Parties to the UN Framework on Climate Change (COP21).
In their declaration, the CEOs of the 10 companies that currently make up the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) – Saudi Aramco, BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Reliance Industries, Repsol, Shell, Statoil and Total – confirmed that they recognise the general ambition to limit global average temperature rise to 2°C and that the existing trend of the world’s net global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is not consistent with this ambition.
The OGCI member companies claimed that they have taken significant actions to reduce their GHG footprint, with combined GHG emissions from their operations reducing by around 20% over the past 10 years.
“Our shared ambition is for a 2°C future. It is a challenge for the whole of society. We are committed to playing our part,” the 10 CEOs said in their declaration.
“Over the coming years we will collectively strengthen our actions and investments to contribute to reducing the GHG intensity of the global energy mix. Our companies will collaborate in a number of areas, with the aim of going beyond the sum of our individual efforts.”
The OGCI also launched its collaborative report – ‘More energy, lower emissions’ – highlighting practical actions taken by member companies to improve GHG emissions management and work towards improving climate change impacts in the longer term.
These actions include significant investments in natural gas, carbon capture and storage, and renewable energy, as well as low-GHG research and development.
Together, the declaration and report set out key areas where the OGCI companies will focus their collaboration, including efficiency, reducing emissions from natural gas, providing long-term solutions and providing energy access to all.
