Norwegian international accredited registrar, DNV GL, has released its Energy Transition Outlook forecasts, predicting that deep decarbonization of the world’s energy system is still 15 years away, according to a press release.

The report found that even though decarbonization is coming to the fore for many industry leaders and governments, the level of current activity is not sufficient to meet the Paris Agreement goals.

Liv Hovem, CEO at DNV GL, said, “Pressure is increasing on the oil and gas industry to decarbonize, and this is coming from all sides: from society and governments, from investors, and also from people within the industry itself. We see the sector increasingly putting the energy transition at the center of its agenda, but climate change and ambitions to reduce it are outpacing action. The industry needs to prepare for an energy system that does not accept the release of carbon emissions.”

The report sees scaling up the capability of hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as the catalyst to truly make inroads into decarbonizing the oil and gas value chain after 2035.

For the sector to make concerted improvements, DNV GL maintains that there must be cooperation from all walks of the industry. Strategic partnerships among government, industry, and associations must be realized to accelerate the timeline on decarbonization and meet climate targets and ambitions.