Our industry has the capital and the competence needed to take us through the energy transition
Jannicke Nilsson
Executive vice president for Safety, Security and Sustainability
UNCC COP28 in Dubai in December 2023
Photo: Equinor
The UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai marked a milestone opportunity to take stock of progress and re-align on the Paris Agreement.
COP28 took place in Dubai in December 2023, and Equinor has pledged to take part in two important initiatives that will help accelerate the energy transition.
We are proud signatories to the historic Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter that has been signed by 50 national and international oil producing companies, equivalent to more than 40% of global oil and gas production. In practice, this means that the industry will raise its ambition levels to reduce emissions and report on progress annually.
In Equinor, we believe we have a responsibility to reduce emissions and find solutions for systemic change. We have the technologies, the expertise and the industrial strength to develop the energy of the future.
Our intention is to deliver solutions that can help accelerate the energy transition. We have a plan to reduce our emissions significantly this decade and achieve net zero by 2050. To achieve it, we must find new ways in renewables, low carbon solutions, and oil and gas.
Our industry has the capital and the competence needed to take us through the energy transition
For the first time, Norwegian businesses took the initiative for a Norwegian Business Pavilion which we were part of together with companies such as Statkraft, DNV, Hydro, Statnett, Yara and more.
Typically, COP has been an arena for governments, not the private sector, but this year in particular, the private sector was welcomed and expected.
”Our industry has the capital and the competence needed to take us through the energy transition. Equinor was at COP28 to take part in the global climate policy dialogue, but we were also there to bring actions to the table,” says Jannicke Nilsson, executive vice president for SSU.
Equinor is taking part in 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.
Equinor supports the Presidency’s ambition to triple renewables capacity by 2030. This is aligned with our existing ambitions to reach 12-16GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and we are on track to reach this.
Our ambition is to be among the top global players in offshore wind, drawing on our extensive offshore experience to drive the industry forward. Wind power is a key enabler in the world’s energy transition.
Equinor pledged $25 million to the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) fund, a new World Bank-administered initiative announced at COP28, which aims to support flaring reduction and methane abatement in the oil and gas sector.
The first initiative we are part of is the Oil and Gas Decarbonisation Charter (OGDC). The signatories have committed to the ambition to be net zero on scope 1+2 emissions by 2050, to set 2030 emissions reduction targets and to publicly report emissions data.
This is the first ever attempt to bring together private energy companies and national oil companies under a single set of net zero and emissions reductions ambitions. So far, OGDC has gained support from companies representing approximately 40% of global production and is expected to grow as COP gets underway.
The second initiative is led by The World Bank, which will establish a global fund for the reduction of flaring and methane emissions. This work will contribute to reducing emissions globally across the industry as a whole, through sharing of knowledge and expertise, measuring emissions, and financing emissions reductions.
Equinor has pledged 25 million USD and industry members like Occidental, TotalEnergies, bp and others have also pledged to the fund. In total, 150+ countries have pledged their participation to the Global Methane Pledge; which is designed to support countries that lack the necessary financial resources to implement measures to reduce emissions.
“Rapidly reducing methane emissions is one of the most effective short-term measures for addressing climate change. However, funding has been a challenge to get in place for these projects. With this fund we are part of leading the charge in reducing methane emissions, and we hope to see a significant reduction in emissions in a short time,” Nilsson says.
The average methane intensity for Equinor’s operated assets (upstream and midstream) is 0.02%, which is around 1/10 of the industry average.
Thirdly, Equinor supports the Presidency’s ambition to triple renewables capacity by 2030. This is aligned with our existing ambitions to reach 12-16GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and we are on track to reach this.