March 15, 2019, 15:40 / Business

Eni will plant a forest the size of a quarter of Italy to reduce emissions of harmful substances

Italian oil company Eni plans to plant forests in an area four times the size of Wales (about 25% of Italy), chief executive Claudio Descalzi said during the company's annual strategy presentation. According to him, forest restoration will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, writes the Financial Times . According to the company's strategy, forests are planned to be planted on an area of about 81,000 square meters. km in Africa (Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ghana).

Descalzi's statement indicates growing public pressure on oil and gas companies. They are under pressure to fight climate change as investors increasingly demand information on how they plan to respond to demands that threaten to disrupt the industry, the FT writes.

Eni's new emissions reduction target does not include emissions from oil and gas production. We are talking about reducing emissions from the combustion of associated gas and methane. By 2025, the company plans to reduce emissions of harmful substances from methane combustion by 80%. According to the top manager, the announced goal is only the first step. “The goal is to set a date for the transition to full carbon neutrality in the future,” he explained. Eni should ultimately become a “carbon neutral” company, Descalzi added (carbon neutrality involves reducing carbon emissions and offsetting them. - Vedomosti).

Earlier, another oil and gas company, Royal Dutch Shell, announced plans to reduce emissions of harmful substances at its production facilities by 2–3% by 2021.