Exxon Mobil considers net-zero carbon pledge amid activist investor pressure

Exxon chief executive previously dismissed efforts by European Big Oil to adopt carbon abatement strategies as ‘beauty competition’

The change of mindset within Exxon comes amid a shakeup in its board membership following efforts by activist hedgefund Engine No.1. Bloomberg

US energy major Exxon Mobil is contemplating a pledge towards reaching net carbon neutrality by 2050, a huge step for a company that has previously dismissed efforts by its European peers, the The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, quoting sources.

Exxon Mobil chief executive Darren Woods and the company's board members, who include three people from the activist investor company Engine No 1, are now giving the idea of carbon neutrality some serious thought, the newspaper reported.

Mr Woods had previously dismissed efforts by European Big Oil operators to adopt carbon abatement strategies as a "beauty competition".

Companies such as Shell, BP and TotalEnergies, previously known as Total, have all adopted pledges to decarbonise their businesses by 2050, in line with the wider global adoption of Paris Agreement targets.

The Paris Agreement mandates capping of the global rise in temperatures at 1.5°C (34.7°F) or 2°C above pre-industrial levels.

The shift among European Big Oil's attitude towards climate change comes amid a broader reckoning of emissions, which fell during the Covid-19 pandemic. The crunch in demand eviscerated the profits of the industry, leading executives to question the long-term viability of continued investment in fossil fuels.

Shell and BP wrote off billions of dollars in investment in hydrocarbons and made efforts to rapidly adopt newer, cleaner forms of energy into their portfolios.

The change of mindset within Exxon comes amid a shakeup in its board membership after efforts by activist hedge fund Engine No.1.

In April, the company warned that Exxon faced "existential business risk" owing to its large portfolio of fossil fuels and slow progress in energy transition.

It called for an overhaul of Exxon's board to make the western world’s largest oil explorer follow the global agenda on fossil fuel emissions.

Engine No. 1 warned that Exxon faced “value destruction” due to its “refusal to accept that fossil fuel demand may decline”.

Exxon Mobil's efforts at increasing carbon capture and producing biofuels have "delivered more advertising than results”, said Chris James, who established the hedge fund last year.

Engine No 1, which holds a $50 million stake in Exxon, found that the company captured less than 1 per cent of its emissions. The company's total emissions, including the products it sells, will continue to rise by 2025.

Exxon's shareholders include the world's largest asset managers BlackRock and Vanguard, which have become increasingly vocal about climate risks.

While rivals such as BP have begun a shift to cleaner energy, Exxon has staked its future on large oil projects in the US shale patch, offshore oilfields in Guyana and Brazil, and refining and petrochemicals.

Oil majors in the US, the world's biggest producer of oil and gas, are facing increasing scrutiny as President Joe Biden’s administration continues to push for a transition to cleaner sources of energy in a bid to lower emissions. It has frozen new exploration activities on federal lands and has brought the US back to the Paris Agreement.

The US also plans to lower its carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 from its 2005 levels.

In March, the US Securities and Exchange Commission rebuffed attempts by Conoco Phillips and Occidental Petroleum to dismiss shareholder motions on emissions targets, a move that will force them to detail plans to cut their "Scope 3" emissions.