Europe’s oil and gas giants are increasingly scaling back their climate goals as they struggle to deliver on their ambitious clean energy pledges. [emphasis, links added]
In 2022, Norway’s state-controlled energy giant Equinor ASA laid its roadmap to achieving net zero emissions.
However, in February Equinor scrapped a pledge to devote more than 50% of its gross capital expenditure to renewables and low-carbon solutions by 2030.
Equinor has also abandoned plans to invest in Vietnam’s offshore wind sector, dealing a significant blow to the country’s green energy ambitions.
This marked the first time Equinor has abandoned offshore wind development; in contrast, the company has previously exited more than a dozen fossil fuel projects to focus on renewables and low-carbon systems.
“The energy transition has started, but the opportunity set for high-value growth is more limited than we had anticipated,” Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said on Thursday.
Similarly, Equinor has announced that it will not move forward with plans to build a pipeline to carry hydrogen from Norway to Germany with partner RWE, citing a lack of customers as well as an inadequate regulatory framework.
Equinor was to build hydrogen plants that would enable Norway to send up to 10 gigawatts per annum of blue hydrogen to Germany.
Similarly, Shell has announced plans to cease new offshore wind investments and is splitting its power division as CEO Wael Sawan looks to boost the company’s profitability.
“While we will not lead new offshore wind developments, we remain interested in offtakes where commercial terms are acceptable and are cautiously open to equity positions if there is a compelling investment case,” a company spokesperson said in a statement carried by Reuters.
Shell, like Equinor, appears to be systematically scaling back its clean energy investments.
Earlier in the year, the company ditched plans to build a low-carbon hydrogen plant on Norway’s west coast due to a lack of demand.
“We haven’t seen the market for blue hydrogen materialize and decided not to progress the project,” a Shell spokesperson told Reuters.
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