Adnoc brings forward net zero emission target by 5 years to 2045

The company said it would also achieve zero methane emissions by 2030

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Published: Mon 31 Jul 2023, 6:10 PM

UAE’s Adnoc on Monday announced an 'accelerated decarbonisation plan' to bring forward its net zero ambition to 2045, from its previous target of 2050.

The company said it would also achieve zero methane emissions by 2030.

The Abu Dhabi-based energy major is the first company in its peer group to accelerate its net zero target to 2045, investing heavily in renewables, building a global hydrogen value chain, deploying innovative climate technology solutions and advancing nature-based solutions such as planting mangroves in the UAE.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, chaired Adnoc Executive Committee meeting on Monday and asked the energy giant to seek new global partnerships to achieve a decarbonisation plan.

Adnoc's announcement came as the UAE government set a target to reduce carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 from a business-as-usual level in July.

In addition, the UAE will host the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) from November 30 to December 12, 2023, at Expo City Dubai, bringing leaders and experts from around the globe to discuss and solve the challenge of climate change that the governments are grappling with in different parts of the world.

Reflecting the commitment of the public and private sectors, many entities have also set targets to achieve net zero emissions in line with the country’s vision.

The Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) earlier this year hosted the ninth National Dialogue for Climate Ambition (NDCA) under the theme of 'Decarbonizing the Buildings Sector' to accelerate the national efforts across all sectors to achieve net zero targets by 2050.

On Monday, Dubai’s largest bank Emirates NBD signed the UAE Climate-Responsible Companies Pledge initiated by the MOCCAE as part of its commitment to achieving net-zero goals.

Moreover, the UAE’s Ministry of Economy also announced that international trade would be featured at the COP28 for the first time ever.

The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure also announced the establishment of the UAE Maritime Decarbonisation Centre, which is the first in the Mena region and fourth globally.

More decarbonisation investments

Adnoc, which made an initial allocation of $15 billion (Dh53.4 billion) to expedite the implementation of its decarbonisation initiatives, on Monday said it would announce further investments and associated projects over the coming months to meet its ambitious decarbonisation targets.

The groups' $3.8 billion decarbonisation plan, first-of-its-kind at-scale project, will connect its offshore operations to clean grid power, reducing its offshore carbon footprint by up to 50 per cent. It also includes building a 1 million tonnes per annum low-carbon ammonia production facility to help its customers decarbonise.

In 2022, it started two pilot projects to deploy climate technologies to capture and permanently store carbon dioxide to expand its carbon capture capacity to 5 million tonnes per annum by 2030.

Last year, Abu Dhabi-owned firm achieved upstream carbon intensity of 7 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per barrel of oil equivalent (kgCO2e/boe) while intensity was 0.07 per cent.

Moreover, it achieved greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions of 4mt by using grid energy from solar and nuclear power to supply 100 per cent of its onshore operations as well as 1mt from energy efficiency and flaring reduction projects.

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