Aramco accepts climate change challenge and joins net-zero by 2050 race

Saudi oil and gas giant Saudi Aramco has revealed its goal to achieve net-zero for Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across its operations by 2050.

Amid the growing climate change concerns, Aramco announced on Saturday that it was aware of its responsibility in helping to address the scale and urgency of climate change issues. Therefore, the company announced its ambition to reach net-zero for Scope 1 and Scope 2GHG emissions across its wholly-owned and operated assets by 2050.

H.E. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Aramco Chairman, commented: “Reducing emissions, while meeting the world’s continuing energy needs, is one of the biggest challenges of this century. Aramco has a uniquely strong platform from which to lead the global industry to meet this challenge and we are delighted to announce today our ambition to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations by 2050.”

Aramco outlines that this goal represents a significant part of the firm’s focus on long-term shareholder value creation, exemplified by employing a company-wide approach in sustainability to advance goals. Further details are scheduled to be disclosed in Aramco’s forthcoming Sustainability Report, which will be issued in the second quarter of 2022.

Amin H. Nasser, Aramco President and CEO, stated: “Aramco’s ambition to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across our operations in less than three decades is a historic step forward that will help tackle the most pressing challenge facing humanity.”

This announcement serves to complement the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s aim to reach net-zero emissions by 2060.

“The actions we take in the coming years will help safeguard our planet for future generations. The road ahead will be complex, as the world’s transition to a more sustainable energy future will require collective action and major technological breakthroughs. But we remain focused on delivering reliable and affordable energy, investing for the long term as our efforts to further reduce emissions gain momentum,” added Nasser.

In company-related news, Saudi Aramco signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Saipem in September this year to explore the possibility of setting up a potential new company in Saudi Arabia for offshore engineering and construction operations.

The initiative was taken in the frame of Saudi Aramco’s Nama’at Investment Industrial Program, which focuses on building capacity in sustainability, technology, industrial and advanced materials.