Following the fourth Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, US President Joe Biden unveiled a number of global initiatives, including the Carbon Management Challenge. Biden called for the rapid implementation of a broad range of climate solutions, including efforts to accelerate carbon management and methane mitigation technologies and action to decarbonize internal shipping.
Welcoming President Biden’s announcement, OGCI’s Executive Committee Chair Bjørn Otto Sverdrup said: “OGCI welcomes such call for action made at the Major Economies Forum, including action on carbon capture, methane mitigation and decarbonizing shipping.
“The IPCC, IEA and other experts agree that the world will need a broad package of solutions to get to net zero emissions. We at OGCI are keen to do our part to catalyse industry actions to decarbonize as rapidly as possible so we can meet the Paris Agreement goals.”
Sverdrup added: “Action is now more important than talk. This initiative challenges us all to act, and act swiftly.”
OGCI has made working with industry, governments and other investors to scale up carbon capture, utilization and storage one of its top priorities.
“We have helped establish several CCUS hubs to take carbon dioxide from multiple emitting sources, such as heavy industries and power, and then transport and store it using common infrastructure,” Sverdrup said.
“Our CCUS hub tool helps regulators, industrial emitters and transport and storage operators to identify potential hubs and learn lessons on how best to set them up from the most advanced hubs.”
The Major Economies Forum is a major event ahead of COP28. COP28 will assess the world’s progress since Paris. The conference offers the opportunity to assess whether and how Paris’ 1.5 degree target can be met, and how action to 2030 can be both more effective and more resilient.
Background
- The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is a CEO-led organization bringing together 12 of the largest companies worldwide to lead the oil and gas industry’s response to climate change. It aims to accelerate action towards a net zero emissions future consistent with the Paris Agreement. Together, OGCI member companies represent almost 30% of global oil and gas production.
- OGCI launched its CCUS KickStarter Initiative in 2019 to help establish multiple low-carbon hubs. These CCUS hubstake carbon dioxide from several emitting sources, such as heavy industries and power, and then transport and store it using common infrastructure.
- OGCI launched The CCUS Hub in 2022, a web-based platform designed to support regulators, emitters and potential hub developers interested in setting up CCUS hubs globally.
- There are currently around 50 CCUS hubs proposed or in development around the world, with OGCI member companies involved in over 30 of them. The first, Northern Lights, is expected to start operation in mid-2024, serving emitters in Norway and Europe.
- OGCI is a member of the Project REMARCCABLE (Realising Maritime Carbon Capture to demonstrate the Ability to Lower Emissions) consortium, the world’s first project aimed to demonstrate end-to-end shipboard carbon capture at scale. The group will build and test a marine carbon capture system onboard a Stena Bulk medium range (MR) tanker to assess the operational challenges of running such a system on a ship at sea.
- OGCI launched the Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative which calls for an all-in approach that treats energy industry methane emissions as seriously as the industry already treats safety: aiming for zero and striving to do what is needed to get there.
