Equinor aims to cut emissions in Norway towards near zero in 2050.
Equinor has committed to slash greenhouse gas emissions in Norway.
Equinor has launched a new climate ambition to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas emissions from its operated offshore fields and onshore plants in Norway with 40% by 2030, 70% by 2040 and to near zero by 2050.
This will mean that, by 2030, the oil and gas company will have to implement annual cuts of more than 5 million tonnes, corresponding to around 10% of Norway’s total CO2 emissions.
Eldar Sætre, CEO of Equinor, said: “Equinor supports the Paris agreement and a net zero target for society. We have already brought CO2-emissions in the production process down to industry leading levels. We are now launching an unprecedented set of ambitions for forceful industrial action and substantial absolute emission reductions in Norway, aiming towards near zero in 2050. This is in line with society’s climate targets and our strategy to create high value with low emissions,”
The ambition will cover all greenhouse gas emissions from offshore fields and onshore plants operated by Equinor in Norway, including both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of CO2 and methane.
A 40% reduction by 2030 will be realised through large scale industrial measures, including energy efficiency, digitalisation and the launch of several electrification projects at key fields and plants, including the Troll and Oseberg offshore fields and the Hammerfest LNG plant.
Eldar Sætre added: “Collaboration is key to combat climate change. We appreciate the close cooperation with our industry partners and suppliers, and to realise these ambitions we need even closer collaboration across industries and with authorities. We plan investments in the order of 50 billion Norwegian kroner together with our partners by 2030 to cut emissions in order to strengthen the long-term competitiveness for our fields and plants. In setting these ambitions Equinor has assumed stable framework conditions and necessary investments in the electricity grid.”
Equinor highlights the importance of innovative technology and large-scale industrial solutions to develop new competitive value chains.
At present, Equinor is pursuing and maturing opportunities within offshore wind, carbon capture and storage and emissions-free hydrogen based on natural gas.
Equinor say these ambitions will support the development of new value chains within hydrogen and carbon capture and storage and help ensure that the Norwegian continental shelf and onshore plants can play an important role and create value in a world with net zero emissions.
7 January 2020
Climate Action
