Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE: XOM) on Tuesday said it was targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Shareholders responded well to the announcement, resulting in a close to 3.0% gain in the stock price.
CEO Woods’ remarks on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”
Exxon might have been behind its peers in formally committing to net-zero carbon emissions, but having a “line of sight” before joining the pledge was more important, said CEO Darren Woods on CNBC’s “Squawk Box”.
It’s more than just a pledge. We’ve been working on it for years to make sure that we had a line of sight on how to achieve this. That’s the work we’ve been doing and the technology advances we’ve been working on. When we commit to something, our intention is to deliver on it.
Last month, the oil giant said its 2019’s earnings and cash flow will be doubled by 2027.
Why many are unimpressed by Exxon’s target
A slate of climate change activists and reporters, however, see Exxon’s plan to zero out emissions from operations by 2050 as insufficient since it leaves out Scope 3 emissions that make up the largest chunk of emissions for the oil and gas companies. According to Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi:
LOL at all the publications falling for Exxon’s net-zero goal, which covers only Scope 1 and 2 emissions and thus leaves out more than 80% of their total emissions. No Big Oil company’s net-zero plan is based on accepted science unless it also includes Scope 3 emissions.
Other notable names that are unimpressed by Exxon’s announcement for the same reason include Kathryn Lundstrom (Adweek), Justin Guay (The Sunrise Project), Andrew Freedman (Washington Post), and Ketan Joshi (The Correspondent).
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