Big Oil’s Climate Pledges: A Dangerous Distraction

The report argues that the climate pledges of major oil and gas companies are 'empty promises' designed to deceive the public. It finds that none of the analyzed companies' plans meet the standards required to limit warming to 1.5°C, as they often exclude Scope 3 emissions, rely on unproven carbon capture technology, and continue to invest in fossil fuel exploration and production.

• None of the climate plans from the analyzed major oil and gas companies meet the standards necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C, which requires cutting annual greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and ending oil and gas exploration immediately.
• Oil and gas companies employ four primary flaws in their climate plans: excluding Scope 3 (end-use) emissions, excluding specific activities or products, relying on post-emission compensation like carbon capture and storage (CCS) and nature-based offsets, and using emission intensity metrics to mask increases in absolute emissions.
• ExxonMobil's net-zero ambition for 2050 excludes approximately 90% of its emissions by ignoring Scope 3 and non-operated assets. Its 20% reduction target for Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 only applies to 10% of total company emissions, potentially resulting in only a 2% overall decrease if production remains steady.
• Chevron plans to increase oil and gas production by 17.5% by 2025 relative to 2020 levels, which means its overall emissions will increase even if it achieves its goal of reducing portfolio carbon intensity by 5% by 2028.
• Shell's strategy involves increasing natural gas production by 4% annually through 2030, which is projected to drive absolute annual emissions 12% higher in 2030 than in 2019. The company relies heavily on customer-driven nature-based offsets to address Scope 3 emissions.
• BP's pledge to reduce oil and gas production by 40% by 2030 is misleading because it excludes its joint venture with Rosneft; when included, the actual planned reduction is only 28% from 2019 levels. Additionally, 46% of BP's emissions are excluded from its net-zero goal.
• The report characterizes investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS) and algae biofuels as 'false solutions,' noting that CCS is often used for enhanced oil recovery and can be net-additive to carbon emissions unless powered by renewables.

APA

Center for Climate Integrity (2022). Big Oil’s Climate Pledges: A Dangerous Distraction. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/BigOilClimatePledges-CCI-Feb2022.pdf

Chicago

Center for Climate Integrity. Big Oil’s Climate Pledges: A Dangerous Distraction. 2022. https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/BigOilClimatePledges-CCI-Feb2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for Climate Integrity |title=Big Oil’s Climate Pledges: A Dangerous Distraction |date=2022 |url=https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/BigOilClimatePledges-CCI-Feb2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforclimateintegrity2022big, author = {{Center for Climate Integrity}}, title = {{Big Oil’s Climate Pledges: A Dangerous Distraction}}, institution = {Center for Climate Integrity}, year = {2022}, url = {https://climateintegrity.org/uploads/media/BigOilClimatePledges-CCI-Feb2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }