Total Unveils 2050 Net Zero Goal
France's Total has followed other European oil firms BP, Shell, Eni and Repsol in announcing plans to produce net-zero emissions by 2050 on May 5 – the same day it reported a 35% drop in first-quarter profits as a result of the market collapse.
In a joint statement with its institutional investors, Total said it aimed to achieve net zero for its scope 1 and 2 emissions worldwide by 2050 or sooner, and net zero for scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions across all its production and energy products in Europe by 2050.
The major is also targeting a 60% or more cut in the scope 1, 2 and 3 average carbon intensity of energy products used by its customers worldwide to under 27.5 grams of CO2/MJ by 2050. It hopes to lower the intensity by 15% by 2030 and 35% by 2040. These represent the most ambitious targets for reducing scope-3 emissions set by any of the majors, it said.
Total said it aspired to be a "broad energy company", with oil and gas still playing "integral" parts of its business alongside low-carbon electricity and carbon-neutrality solutions. Pursuing its low-carbon strategy was in the best long-term interests of its shareholders, it said.
The French major chalked up its progress on emissions so far, noting it had achieved a 6% decrease in scope-3 average carbon intensity since 2015.
"Energy markets are changing, driven by climate change, technology and societal expectations. Total is committed to helping solve the dual challenge of providing more energy with fewer emissions," CEO Patrick Pouyanne said.
Total plans to boost its renewable energy generation capacity to 25 GW by 2025, and over a tenth of its capex on low-carbon electricity, and aims to raise this to a fifth by 2030 or sooner. Despite steep cuts to overall spending, it plans to invest $1.5-2.0bn in this area in 2020.