Illustration showing that Chevron omits more than 90 percent of its emissions in its “net zero” “aspiration”. Though Chevron is quick to proffer its “net zero” commitment as proof of its commitment to address climate change, its “net zero” pledge is 1) only an “aspiration”, as carefully stated on its website; and 2) only applies to its Scope 1 emissions (that result from operating the facilities/equipment/vehicles/buildings that Chevron owns) and Scope 2 emissions (produced from the energy Chevron uses), not its Scope 3 emissions (caused by the end-use of Chevron’s products – sold oil and gas). Graphic: Corporate Accountability
Illustration showing that Chevron omits more than 90 percent of its emissions in its “net zero” “aspiration”. Though Chevron is quick to proffer its “net zero” commitment as proof of its commitment to address climate change, its “net zero” pledge is 1) only an “aspiration”, as carefully stated on its website; and 2) only applies to its Scope 1 emissions (that result from operating the facilities/equipment/vehicles/buildings that Chevron owns) and Scope 2 emissions (produced from the energy Chevron uses), not its Scope 3 emissions (caused by the end-use of Chevron’s products – sold oil and gas). Graphic: Corporate Accountability

By Nina Lakhani
24 May 2023

NEW YORK (The Guardian) – A new investigation into Chevron’s climate pledge has found the fossil-fuel company relies on “junk” carbon offsets and “unviable” technologies, which do little to offset its vast greenhouse gas emissions and, in some cases, may actually be causing communities harm.

Chevron, which reported $35.5bn in profits last year, is the US’s second-largest fossil fuel company with operations stretching from Canada and Brazil to the UK, Nigeria and Australia.

Despite major expansions in five continents, Chevron has said that it “aspires” to achieve net zero upstream emissions by 2050. To do this, it is mostly relying on carbon offset schemes – environmental projects meant to cancel out its greenhouse gas emissions – and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

New research by Corporate Accountability, a non-profit, transnational corporate watchdog, found that 93% of the offsets Chevron bought and counted towards its climate targets from voluntary carbon markets between 2020 and 2022 were too environmentally problematic to be classified as anything other than worthless or junk.

A carbon offset is characterized as having low environmental integrity, or being worthless, if it is linked to a forest or plantation or green energy project, including those involving hydroelectric dams, that doesn’t lead to additional greenhouse gas reductions, exaggerates benefits or risks emitting emissions, among other measures.

Map of Chevron’s current oil production, intended expansion, and exploration. The extent of its intended expansion hits home when one looks at the global reach of this production. As illustrated here, in the most recent reported period at the time of writing (July 1 2020 – June 30 2021), Chevron was currently producing hydrocarbons to the tune of 1,322.28 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mmboe) in 21 countries, expanding its oil operations in eight countries estimating a further 5,421.96 mmboe, and exploring in 24 countries. This reckless expansion includes, among others, plans to increase crude oil production both in the U.S. Permian Basin and Kazakhstan by 42 percent (700,000 barrels per day to 1 million) in 2023. All in all, this activity implies an overshoot of at least 52.4 percent when compared to the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 Scenario, a number that is optimistic and therefore likely conservative. Graphic: Corporate Accountability
Map of Chevron’s current oil production, intended expansion, and exploration. The extent of its intended expansion hits home when one looks at the global reach of this production. As illustrated here, in the most recent reported period at the time of writing (1 July 2020 – 30 June 2021), Chevron was currently producing hydrocarbons to the tune of 1,322.28 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (mmboe) in 21 countries, expanding its oil operations in eight countries estimating a further 5,421.96 mmboe, and exploring in 24 countries. This reckless expansion includes, among others, plans to increase crude oil production both in the U.S. Permian Basin and Kazakhstan by 42 percent (700,000 barrels per day to 1 million) in 2023. All in all, this activity implies an overshoot of at least 52.4 percent when compared to the International Energy Agency’s Net Zero by 2050 Scenario, a number that is optimistic and therefore likely conservative. Graphic: Corporate Accountability

Many of Chevron’s offset purchases focus on forests, plantations or large dams.

According to the report shared exclusively with the Guardian, almost half of Chevron’s “worthless” offsets are also linked to alleged social and environmental harms – mostly in communities in the global south, which are also often the most affected by the climate crisis.

“Chevron’s junk climate action agenda is destructive and reckless, especially in light of climate science underscoring the only viable way forward is an equitable and urgent fossil fuel phase-out,” said Rachel Rose Jackson from Corporate Accountability.

The report, Destruction Is at the Heart of Everything We Do, comes amid a week of global protests by communities affected by Chevron’s oil and gas businesses, as the California-headquartered company prepares for its annual shareholders meeting on 31 May.

On Sunday in Richmond, a majority Black and brown city of 115,000 people just north-east of San Francisco, activists gathered in front of the sprawling Chevron oil refinery. In 2012, 15,000 people required medical help after a huge fire caused by the company’s criminal negligence. Asthma rates are far higher in Richmond than the state and national averages.

The report argues that the widespread use of worthless offsets severely undermines Chevron’s climate action ambition, which in any case is limited to a tiny fraction of its business. Chevron’s net zero aspiration only applies to less than 10% of the company’s carbon footprint – the upstream emissions from the production and transport of oil and gas, while excluding downstream or end-use emissions from burning fossil fuels to heat homes, power factories and drive cars.

Though the fossil fuel industry generally is infamous for its dark money, buying of political systems, and manipulation of policy, Chevron stands out as among the dirtiest – it is the fossil fuel corporation most misaligned with the Paris Agreement and ranks among the top three least climate responsible lobbyists among major fossil fuel corporations. A brief look at its lobbying expenditure provides only one glimpse of a deeper, more insidious lobbying machine. Between 2020-2022, its lobbying disclosures show that Chevron individually spent US$20.8 million (US$20,780,000) lobbying only within the U.S. But this only reflects what Chevron directly lobbied on, in just one country. It does not reflect the broader lobbying muscle of the industry groups Chevron helps direct and is a member of, which is where much of the fossil fuel industry lobbying happens. Graphic: Corporate Accountability
Though the fossil fuel industry generally is infamous for its dark money, buying of political systems, and manipulation of policy, Chevron stands out as among the dirtiest – it is the fossil fuel corporation most misaligned with the Paris Agreement and ranks among the top three least climate responsible lobbyists among major fossil fuel corporations. A brief look at its lobbying expenditure provides only one glimpse of a deeper, more insidious lobbying machine. Between 2020-2022, its lobbying disclosures show that Chevron individually spent US$20.8 million (US$20,780,000) lobbying only within the U.S. But this only reflects what Chevron directly lobbied on, in just one country. It does not reflect the broader lobbying muscle of the industry groups Chevron helps direct and is a member of, which is where much of the fossil fuel industry lobbying happens. Graphic: Corporate Accountability

“Any climate plan that is premised on offsets, CCS, and excludes scope 3 [downstream] emissions is bound to fail,” said Steven Feit, fossil economy legal and research manager at the Center for International Environmental Law.

“It’s clear from this report and other research that net zero as a framework opens the door for claims of climate action while continuing with business as usual, and not moving towards a low-carbon Paris [agreement]-aligned 1.5-degree future.”

Chevron’s projected emissions between 2022 and 2025 are equivalent to the emissions from 364 coal-fired power plants annually – and dwarf the total emissions of 10 European countries combined for a similar three-year period: Austria, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Lithuania, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Iceland.

In a statement sent after the publication of this article, Chevron rejected the findings of the report, saying it was biased against its industry and painted an incomplete picture of its efforts to advance a low carbon future. [more]

‘Worthless’: Chevron’s carbon offsets are mostly junk and some may harm, research says