Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 27 2021

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

The oil and gas industry globally comprises 42% of GHG emissions (Photo: WClarke, Creative Commons, cropped)
A small hedge fund helped propel a move to divided Congress.
replace three of Exxon’s 12 board members In comments first aired on the UK’s Chan-
with activist shareholders to guide the company nel 4 broadcaster, McCoy continued: “Did we
towards lowering emissions and transitioning aggressively fight against some of the science?
to cleaner energy. Exxon had resisted the move. Yes. Did we hide our science? Absolutely not.
Shareholders also voted to tell rival Chevron Did we join some of these shadow groups to
to slash emissions, even those produced by cus- work against some of the early efforts? Yes, that’s
tomers who use its petrol. And during the same true.”
week in the Netherlands, a court ordered Royal The fall-out is potentially broad, including
Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions sharply because of publicity surrounding any testimony
– by a net of 45% by 2030 compared with 2019 in Congress. “They are the most prominent sup-
levels. Shell is appealing. porter of a carbon tax, and it’s a position behind
European oil companies are starting to dab- which many companies have rallied. This pulls
ble in renewable energy and set goals for zero out the rug from that position in a really critical
emissions, but US companies less so. The most way,” Andrew Logan, senior director of oil and
prominent hold-out is Exxon, based in Texas gas at Ceres, a non-profit group focused on sus-
and once the most valuable company in the tainable investment, told CBS News.
world. New rules are also now being discussed by
In the Greenpeace video, Keith McCoy, a regulators of Wall Street regarding publicly
senior director for federal relations at Exxon, traded companies’ disclosure of their climate
said the company’s support for a carbon tax in risk. The US Securities and Exchange Com-
the US was simply a “talking point” for a pol- mission is expected to issue a new draft rule in
icy it never expected to be adopted. “It’s an easy October.
talking point to say, I’m for a carbon tax. That’s In May, the International Energy Agency
a talking point. That is, in my mind, an effective (IEA), in a controversial roadmap, said that all
advocacy tool,” he said. new global oil and gas exploration projects must
McCoy also boasted about efforts discred- end this year if the world is to reach net zero by
iting climate science and of trying to undercut 2050. Renewable energy use must grow four-
President Joe Biden’s plans to advance the fight fold if the world is to keep to the Paris Agree-
against climate change in his infrastructure plan, ment goal of a rise in temperature of less than 1.5
which is now facing an uphill battle in a closely degrees Celsius, it said. ™

EQT rolls out four-year net-zero plan

PITTSBURGH-BASED EQT, an independent to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse
natural gas producer and pipeline operator, says gas (GHG) emissions in its production segment
it intends to bring its net carbon emissions down operations by or before 2025.”
to zero in just four years. This plan is in line with EQT’s effort to “con-
The company unveiled its net-zero agenda tinuously improve the way it produces envi-
last week, saying in a statement covering its ronmentally responsible, reliable and low-cost
2020 ESG report that it had “announced targets energy,” it declared.

Week 27 08•July•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9