Petrobras sets up exec team to lead transition to low-carbon

Brazilian oil and gas giant Petrobras has decided to create a climate change executive management, reinforcing the growing importance of the activities related to the low-carbon transition in the company.

Petrobras said on Tuesday that its board of directors had approved the creation of the Climate Change Executive Management, which would be responsible for leading the company’s actions in carbon management, reduction of air emissions, energy efficiency, and climate change.

The new structure will be linked to the Chief Institutional Relations Officer, which will be renamed Chief Institutional Relations and Sustainability Officer.

The creation of the executive management reinforces the importance of low-carbon transition in Petrobras, given the relevance of the theme to society, industry, and the company’s strategic planning.

Petrobras seeks sustained value generation in the context of low-carbon transition and focuses its carbon management on three pillars, transparence and quantification, the resilience of position in oil and gas, and strengthening of competencies aligned with a low-carbon economy.

The company’s priority is to operate with low costs and emissions and offering its clients accessible energy aligned with the emission-reduction commitments.

Roberto Castello Branco, the company’s CEO, said: “The creation of the Climate Change Executive Management aims at improving our governance and increasing focus on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon capture.

“We have adopted a policy of transparency in our commitments related to emissions and have opted for the use of technological innovation applied to our core business, combining shareholder value creation and benefits to society through actions to minimize Earth’s warming”.

The new area will be responsible for proposing corporate positions, goals and commitments in carbon and for leading their implementation, through carbon mitigation plans and the promotion and incorporation of low emission technologies in the company’s investment portfolio.

The executive management will be led by Viviana Coelho, current manager of Emissions, Energy Efficiency and Low Carbon Transition at Petrobras.

Coelho is a chemical engineer and has been with Petrobras for 18 years. She also currently represents the company in the Executive Committee of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative and in the IPIECA Climate Change group.

She previously acted in several roles in the Downstream and in the Research Center (Cenpes) areas, among them, as general manager of gas, energy and sustainable development innovation.