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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.

Our plan for net zero by 2050
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Our climate ambitions

Our industry may be closest to the problem. But that doesn’t mean we’re furthest from the solutions.

In Equinor, we believe we have a responsibility and an opportunity to reduce our own emissions and find solutions for systemic change. We have the technology, the expertise and the industrial strength to deliver on the future of energy.

By 2050, our ambition is to achieve net zero emissions. In the shorter term, our ambitions for 2030 are:

-50%

To halve emissions from our operated fields

-20%

To reduce net carbon intensity by 20% including from the use of the products we sell (Scope 3)

>50%

More than 50% of our investments will go to renewables and low carbon markets.

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.

In December 2023, we were present at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP28 in Dubai, and pledged to take part in important initiatives that will help accelerate the energy transition.

COP28

Equinor at COP28

COP28 took place in Dubai in 2023, and Equinor supported three initiatives: the first seeks to help raise the ambitions of national oil and gas companies, the second seeks to help greatly reduce methane emissions and the third aims to triple global renewables capacity.

Read more about Equinor at COP28
Reducing emissions

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.

Discover the real-life stories on our progress on the energy transition

Discover how we are planning to succeed in the energy transition, with new technologies and innovations. Meet the people who go to work to solve the energy trilemma of climate, affordability, and security in these magazine stories.

How we're working towards the Energy Transition

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Growing in renewables.

We bring our offshore experience one step further

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:

  1. We are committed to reducing emissions from our oil and gas production.
  2. We increase our investments in renewables, developing a profitable renewables business.
  3. We invest in new technology, creating and building new low-carbon markets, value chains and businesses.
  4. We will invest in carbon sinks.
  5. 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

Carbon capture, utilisation and storage
Exploring hydrogen

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.

Digitalisation