The Grand Illusion of Net-Zero: Are Petroleum Corporations Misleading Us?

Attribution: Research by Kyoto University’s Global Communications team indicates that carbon offset projects frequently exaggerate their environmental impact, failing to achieve the one-for-one emissions offset they purport to deliver.

A Scrutiny of Big Oil’s Role in the Pursuit of Net-Zero Emissions

The pledges made by major oil firms to curtail greenhouse gas emissions are intricate and multi-dimensional. The pressing question is: Are these large oil conglomerates genuinely pivoting towards greener energy alternatives, or are they merely manipulating the carbon credit system for strategic gain?

For the inaugural time, an international research consortium led by Kyoto University has delved into the carbon offset mechanisms and transitional strategies employed by these significant petroleum corporations. A publicly accessible database has been established to bolster the transparency of the research.

“To gauge the true commitment of each major firm to the transition, we employed various indicators, scrutinizing their blueprints to gradually cease oil and gas supply and assume accountability for emissions throughout their lifecycle,” states Gregory Trencher from Kyoto University’s School of Environmental Studies. He notes that current investments in green energy serve merely as an adjunct to, rather than a substitution for, their fossil fuel operations.

Trencher’s group conducted an exhaustive two-pronged analysis of BP, Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil:

1. Net-Zero Ambitions: How do the net-zero targets set for 2050 by each major corporation differ in terms of the range of emissions covered, plans for reducing fossil fuel operations, and dependency on offsets?

2. Offset Practices: What types of offsets are employed both for carbon reduction and revenue generation? How are these offsets integrated into their primary business models?

In a departure from prior research primarily focusing on increasing renewable energy, Trencher’s group undertook an extensive examination of the companies’ carbon offsetting practices. Under the net-zero framework, a corporation can acquire carbon credits from initiatives in emerging economies, such as projects that conserve forests, to assert that they have mitigated their emissions.

Two principal conclusions were derived from their bifurcated analysis, which amalgamated data from annual and sustainability reports, corporate websites, and voluntary carbon markets:

Firstly, “Net-zero commitments by these large oil firms do not signify a fundamental shift away from fossil fuel dependence,” remarks co-author Mathieu Blondeel from Vrije University Amsterdam. Absent are unequivocal strategies to reduce both the extraction and distribution of hydrocarbons. Their road to net-zero emissions heavily depends on carbon offsetting, rather than genuinely transforming their conventional energy products.

Secondly, “Our findings cast doubts on the environmental effectiveness of these offsets,” states Jusen Asuka of Tohoku University. The majority of offset initiatives and carbon credits utilized are geared more towards emissions avoidance than actual emissions removal from the atmosphere.

These findings fundamentally question the veracity of statements made by these major corporations that have committed to attaining net-zero emissions by 2050 while concurrently transitioning to renewable energy sources. To genuinely achieve this necessitates a dual-path transformative process: systematically reducing and ultimately ceasing hydrocarbon extraction while simultaneously ramping up clean energy production.

“Employing carbon offsets allows these major firms to expediently claim that conventional fossil fuels are carbon-neutral, thus accelerating their course towards net-zero objectives,” observes Trencher.

“This raises concerns,” the principal investigator further elucidates, citing historical and recent data showing that many carbon offset initiatives substantially inflate their environmental contributions and fail to deliver the one-for-one emissions offset they promise.

“In addition,” Trencher concludes, “a significant portion of credits emanate from outdated avoidance schemes, indicating that many carbon offset projects are not actively contributing to the actual removal of carbon emissions from the atmosphere.”

Reference: “Do all roads lead to Paris?” by Gregory Trencher, Mathieu Blondeel, and Jusen Asuka, published on 20 June 2023 in Climatic Change. DOI: 10.1007/s10584-023-03564-7

The investigation was financially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and the UK Energy Research Centre.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Net-zero commitments of major oil corporations

More about Net-zero commitments of major oil corporations

• Kyoto University’s School of Environmental Studies
• Vrije University Amsterdam
• Tohoku University
• Climatic Change Journal
• Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
• UK Energy Research Centre
• Voluntary Carbon Market
• BP Sustainability Reports
• Shell Sustainability Reports
• Chevron Sustainability Reports
• ExxonMobil Sustainability Reports