Exxon could set carbon neutrality target by 2050

One of the largest oil and gas companies in the world, American Exxon, is eyeing the idea of ​​achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, found out . The Wall Street Journal

Back in 2020, Exxon CEO Darren Woods called the similar goals of European competitors a “beauty contest” in the sense that there were no specific plans for them, recalls WSJ. But this year, hedge funds ran green candidates for Exxon's board of directors, and now Woods is seriously discussing carbon neutrality with him. It is possible that the company will still limit itself to a promise to reduce the ratio of emissions to energy produced or achieve carbon neutrality, but only for its own activities.

This year, a court in the Netherlands made a landmark ruling ordering Shell to speed up emissions reductions, citing human rights. Why this decision is critical, we explained here . The goal of achieving carbon neutrality was set not only by Shell, but also by BP.

The easiest way to achieve neutrality is to sell off the dirtiest assets, and Woods has already said that his company will do this. In the medium term, this will increase emissions as less scrupulous companies acquire assets. “Carbon fighters are unnecessarily focusing on large private companies, wrote the FT: they account for only 12% of oil and gas reserves, 15% of production and 10% of production-related emissions, according to the IEA, and dominate the market by state-owned companies.