Carbon neutrality is not a hindrance, it’s a necessity. Oil and gas companies passed just simply installing solar panels on roofs or carpooling to work – we are beyond that point now. It is essential to combine a series of solutions to achieve carbon neutrality by canceling out carbon emissions released by such a carbon-intensive industry. This is one of the main themes tackled and discussed during the recent United Nations (UN) Climate Summit that took place in Sharm El Sheikh earlier last month (COP27).
General Overview
Nations acknowledged at COP26 in Glasgow that carbon output levels were expected to be 14% higher in 2030 than in 2010. To keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, emissions must be cut by 45%. They convened to create a scope of work that aims mainly to direly ramp up mitigation aspirations and execution in this crucial couple of years to address this issue. Countries openly discussed the ways in which this scope of work could operate in Sharm el-Sheikh. The developed and susceptible nations wanted the discussions to be lengthy, robust and focused. The developing markets desired that they be short and broad.
In today’s world, economies rely on the concrete, iron, steel, chemical industries, and petrochemical products businesses. Notwithstanding the emission of pollutants, they must play a critical role in the low-carbon post-pandemic turnaround. Such energy-intensive businesses can shift to a carbon-neutral market whilst also preserving or perhaps even enhancing their international competitiveness. Implementing circular economy strategies to assist in reducing the need for new materials will be critical in this regard. Alternatives should be executed as soon as possible. For this reason, COP27 brought about the East Mediterranean Gas Forum regional decarbonization Initiative in hopes of expediting this process.
Achieving Carbon Neutrality
As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), if indeed the globe is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, new crude oil, natural gas, and coal harvesting and growth must cease by 2021. In this respect, investment in research and adoption of renewable energy from carbon-free sources such as renewable energy technologies is critical to closing the void between net-zero CO2 emissions propaganda and actuality.
Some experts claim that the globe isn’t on route to reaching carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability by 2050 because the transformation from traditional to renewable energy is taking too long. As a result, greater work is required to morph the energy sector into a climate-neutral powerhouse. This can be attained by collaborating with numerous multidisciplinary research teams and applying an interdisciplinary approach created as a result of the latest advances in science and technology in environmental engineering, biotech, material science, and other areas. Furthermore, with the development of renewable energy, food system management must be optimized to ramp up production effectiveness and lower CO2 pollution.
This could be accomplished by developing new technologies and continuing to develop carbon-neutral agricultural systems. Considering that the planet is not likely to significantly decrease CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in the immediate future, using the potential of natural resources and methods to eliminate CO2 from the atmosphere brings the industry – and eventually the world – one small but critical step closer to being able to achieve carbon neutrality. As mentioned by an oil and gas industry expert and COP27 participant, “[Egypt] has a lot of plans for the future goals to be achieved to become carbon natural, but the real problem we have to focus on is making sure [oil and gas companies] are all working towards the same goal. Right now, some companies have sustainable measures but others are producing large amounts of emissions. So, there has to be a common goal and a mutual way of operation. This is something that COP27 allows us to discuss with the right persons.”
According to the IEA report, policymakers must dare to endorse any new oil and gas fields, in addition to any novel unhindered coal-fired power plants in the near future. It states that new purchases of fossil fuel boilers must be phased out by the close of 2025. These are only just some of the more than 400 benchmarks outlined in the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 study, which lays out a roadmap for the world to adhere to in order to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
In the oil and gas business, pragmatically, getting the globe to net zero by 2050 would necessitate a number of achievements in the governmental, corporate, technological, and social spheres. It will be a massive task to move those targets from the realm of imagination to real life, imploring nations to expedite their green power action plan.
