ASSESSMENT OF EQUINOR’S CLIMATE STRATEGY

The report finds that Equinor's investment strategy prioritizes oil and gas expansion and shareholder returns over renewable energy, with 2023 investments in oil and gas being 6.2 times higher than those in renewables. The analysis indicates that Equinor's 2030 production targets will be 61% higher than levels required for NZE alignment, and the company continues to develop 'climate bombs' in the Barents Sea and Vaca Muerta. Furthermore, Equinor is expanding its gas power capacity by 80% by 2030 and lacks a specific target for scope 3 emissions, which constitute 96% of its total emissions.

• Equinor's 2023 financial allocations heavily favored fossil fuels and shareholders over climate solutions. For every dollar invested in renewables and low carbon solutions, the company invested 6.2 dollars in oil and gas and distributed 8.2 dollars to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks.
• Equinor's oil and gas production targets for 2030 are significantly misaligned with the IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario. Production from current fields and short-term expansion would be 47% higher than NZE levels, while the company's own 2030 production target is 61% above NZE alignment.
• The company continues to pursue high-impact fossil fuel expansions, including projects identified as 'climate bombs' in the Barents Sea and Vaca Muerta. Additionally, Equinor plans to build 5.25 Mtpa of new liquefaction capacity through the Tanzania LNG project, which is not aligned with NZE or Announced Pledges Scenario (APS) targets.
• Equinor's diversification into renewables remains marginal compared to its fossil fuel core. By 2030, the company's energy production from oil and gas is projected to be 10.6 times higher than its production from renewables, representing only 0.2% of global renewable power production in the NZE.
• Equinor is expanding its unsustainable energy portfolio by increasing gas power capacities by 80% compared to 2023 levels, with 450 MW of power plants currently under development.
• The company's emissions strategy is criticized for lacking a specific target for scope 3 emissions, which account for 96% of its total GHG emissions (250 MtCO2e out of 261.6 MtCO2e in 2023). Equinor relies heavily on CCUS to reduce these emissions, a technology the report notes has limited potential and prohibitive costs.

APA

Delaporte, L.-M., Her, H., Gebel, B., Pinson, L., Faul, C., Hermant, R., Lentilhac, M., & Masson, A. (2024). ASSESSMENT OF EQUINOR’S CLIMATE STRATEGY. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-equinor.pdf

Chicago

Delaporte, Louis-Maxence, Henri Her, Bastien Gebel, Lucie Pinson, Clément Faul, Rémi Hermant, Maude Lentilhac, and Agathe Masson. ASSESSMENT OF EQUINOR’S CLIMATE STRATEGY. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-equinor.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Delaporte |first1=Louis-Maxence |last2=Her |first2=Henri |last3=Gebel |first3=Bastien |last4=Pinson |first4=Lucie |last5=Faul |first5=Clément |last6=Hermant |first6=Rémi |last7=Lentilhac |first7=Maude |last8=Masson |first8=Agathe |title=ASSESSMENT OF EQUINOR’S CLIMATE STRATEGY |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=April 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-equinor.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{delaporte2024assessment, author = {Delaporte, Louis-Maxence and Her, Henri and Gebel, Bastien and Pinson, Lucie and Faul, Clément and Hermant, Rémi and Lentilhac, Maude and Masson, Agathe}, title = {{ASSESSMENT OF EQUINOR’S CLIMATE STRATEGY}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/20230413-briefing-climate-strategy-assessment-equinor.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }