ASSESSMENT OF EXXONMOBIL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY

The report concludes that ExxonMobil's strategy prioritizes fossil fuel expansion and shareholder returns over sustainable energy investments. It finds that the company's 2030 production targets and LNG capacity expansions significantly exceed the limits required to align with a 1.5°C pathway. Furthermore, the report highlights a lack of scope 3 emissions targets and a diversification strategy that relies on unsustainable energies like blue hydrogen and biofuels.

• ExxonMobil's financial priorities favor oil and gas expansion and shareholder payouts over sustainable energy. In 2023, the company invested US$25,703 million in oil and gas and provided US$33,220 million to shareholders via dividends and share buybacks, while reporting no investments in sustainable energies.
• The company's oil and gas production plans are inconsistent with the IEA Net Zero Emissions (NZE) scenario. Based on current producing fields and short-term expansion, 2030 production will be 12% higher than NZE levels; if the company meets its 2027 production target of 4,200 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, 2030 production will be 36% above NZE alignment.
• ExxonMobil is expanding its liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity beyond what is required for climate goals. The company is constructing and planning new terminals, including Rovuma LNG in Mozambique, Papua LNG, Qatar North Field, and Tanzania LNG, which will increase its total net liquefaction capacity by 14.1 Mtpa to 35.6 Mtpa by 2030, exceeding NZE capacities by 65.4%.
• The company's diversification strategy is described as marginal and focused on unsustainable energy sources. This includes a target of 10.6 Mtpa of biofuel production by 2030 and the development of hydrogen capacities that likely rely on natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCUS) due to a lack of reported renewable power capacity.
• ExxonMobil lacks comprehensive emissions targets, specifically regarding scope 3 emissions, which accounted for 83% of its total emissions in 2022 (540 MtCO2e). While it has 2030 targets for scope 1 and 2, it has no scope 3 target for 2030 or a commitment to scope 3 carbon neutrality by 2050.
• The company relies heavily on carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), with a goal to capture 50 Mtpa of CO2 by 2030. The report notes that this reliance represents a material risk because CCUS in the energy sector faces limitations in scale, potential, and cost.

APA

Delaporte, L.-M., Her, H., Gebel, B., Pinson, L., Faul, C., Hermant, R., Lentilhac, M., & Masson, A. (2024). ASSESSMENT OF EXXONMOBIL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405_Assessment-of-ExxonMobils-climate-strategy.pdf

Chicago

Delaporte, Louis-Maxence, Henri Her, Bastien Gebel, Lucie Pinson, Clément Faul, Rémi Hermant, Maude Lentilhac, and Agathe Masson. ASSESSMENT OF EXXONMOBIL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405_Assessment-of-ExxonMobils-climate-strategy.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 EXXONMOBIL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=May 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405_Assessment-of-ExxonMobils-climate-strategy.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 EXXONMOBIL’S CLIMATE STRATEGY}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/202405_Assessment-of-ExxonMobils-climate-strategy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }