We’re going for net zero by 2050, but what does that really mean?
Society has to move faster towards a net-zero future, so ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option. Climate change presents a fundamental challenge to society, and it is a shared challenged in which we believe our industry can play an important role. Equinor intends to be a leading company in the energy transition.
In March 2022, we launched our first Energy Transition Plan, demonstrating how we will achieve ambitious climate targets with concrete actions. It was endorsed by our shareholders at our annual general meeting in 2022.
Reduce net carbon intensity by 20% including emissions from the use of the products we sell.
50%
More than 50% of our investments will go to renewables and low carbon markets.
A just energy transition
For Equinor, how we do business is as important as what we do. We are committed to contributing to a transition that is just and inclusive and brings about long-term social and economic benefits.
We aim to remain an industry leader in carbon efficiency
We know that our emissions must be reduced, and it starts with us and how we work with suppliers and partners. It’s about how we make our work more efficient, how we replace gas with electric power, or how we use drones in tracking our methane emissions.
We are assessing numerous large and small initiatives across our company that will reduce emissions daily.
Remaining emissions will be compensated either through quota trading systems, such as EU ETS, or high-quality offset mechanisms. In addition, we plan to invest in the protection of tropical forests as soon as a well-functioning market is in place for the private sector.
Driven by the opportunities within the energy transition and an increasing demand for electricity from renewable energy sources, Equinor continues to build its renewable business. We primarily focus on offshore wind, both bottom-fixed and floating, but we also explore opportunities within onshore renewables.
Our aim is to be a global offshore wind major, while strengthening our industry-leading position on carbon efficient production.
5 ways in which we contribute to a net-zero future:
We are committed to reducing emissions from our oil and gas production.
We increase our investments in renewables, developing a profitable renewables business.
We invest in new technology, creating and building new low-carbon markets, value chains and businesses.
We will invest in carbon sinks.
We will use our voice supporting the goals of the Paris Agreement and policies instrumental in achieving society’s net-zero goal by 2050.
New value chains for carbon
We increase our development within carbon capture and storage
How do we stop CO2 from reaching the atmosphere and contributing to global warming? Capturing and storing CO2 underground is and will be an important building block for our net-zero ambition.
We have a long history of storing CO2 at fields such as Sleipner in the North Sea, and we will build on this experience when we partake in developing full value chains for carbon capture and storage, such as through our ownership in Northern Lights JV together with Shell and Total. We increase our development within carbon capture and storage
We look to convert natural gas to hydrogen while capturing carbon
We believe hydrogen will be a key contributor to the energy transition because it is an effective and environment friendly energy carrier.
We are already looking into early-stage opportunities for converting natural gas to clean hydrogen, while capturing and storing the CO2. It is still early days, but we see this as an exciting opportunity for natural gas in the future.
Enabled by new technology
We make it all happen thanks to new digital tools and technology
We’re just seeing the beginning of how digital tools can help us deliver energy in a more efficient way, both when it comes to emissions and cost.
Our digital front-runners are exploring tools and ways of working with big data and machine learning that will enable the whole company and our collaborators in reaching our ambition of net zero. We are seeing the contours of a new wave of digital transformation which drives sweeping change.