The Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) today published its Baseline report, setting a foundation to help prioritise and track progress on emissions reductions made by the 54 oil and gas companies – representing almost 45% of the global oil production, that have signed up to the Charter’s ambitions.
These ambitions include to work toward net-zero operations by 2050, near-zero upstream methane emissions and zero routine flaring by 2030 in addition to measuring and publicly reporting progress towards meeting OGDC’s goals.
The publication of the Baseline report is a key milestone for OGDC that sets out the work achieved in the first year since the initiative was launched at COP28.
OGDC progress
In the past 12 months, OGDC has established a governance framework and launched a survey to determine signatories’ emissions reduction ambitions and implementation plans to set a baseline to track future progress. OGDC has also implemented a Collaborate & Share program to disseminate solutions, promote peer-to-peer collaboration and encourage the adoption of best practices to reduce emissions. In a sign of a positive momentum, the initiative has also attracted three new members.
Survey findings
OGDC’s Baselining survey found that the majority of signatories are already consistent with the Charter’s ambitions for net zero operations by 2050, and goals to reduce methane emissions to near zero and eliminate flaring by 2030. Gaps identified in the survey will help prioritize support and knowledge transfer from companies with relevant experience.
The survey also found that a majority of the signatories already report on their greenhouse gas emissions, though there is a need for common standards and methodologies to establish a robust reporting framework for the group.
According to the survey, most of the signatories are already investing in the energy systems of the future, including renewable energy, energy storage, low-carbon fuels, hydrogen, methane abatement, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and carbon removals technologies, and plan to increase investments.
About the Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter
The Oil & Gas Decarbonization Charter (OGDC) is one of the landmark initiatives launched at COP28. The Charter outlines a series of ambitions for signatories which include:
- Net-zero operations by 2050
- Near-zero upstream methane emissions
- Zero routine flaring by 2030
These will be supported by a sustained programme of knowledge sharing and collaboration to accelerate action.
The OGDC is a key initiative under the Global Decarbonization Accelerator, a series of landmark initiatives launched at COP28 to speed up the energy transition and drastically reduce global emissions.
