Novatek Sets 2030 Climate Goals
The board of Russian gas producer Novatek has approved a set of 2030 environmental targets, it said on August 24.
The company aims to lower methane emissions per production unit across its extraction, processing and LNG segments by 4%, and reduce air polluting emissions by 20%. It has also pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions per unit at upstream operations by 6% and from LNG by 5%. Novatek also aims to increase its associated petroleum gas utilisation rate to 99%, from 83.3% last year.
The company's goals are fairly modest compared with those set by many European energy firms, some of which have pledged to become carbon neutral within the next decade.
In the company's 2019 sustainable report, published on August 24, CEO Leonid Mikhelson said Novatek's goals were in line with Russia's commitments under the Paris Agreement. Moscow ratified the climate deal in October last year, under which it will have to reduce CO2 emissions by 30%.
However, the baseline for this reduction is Russia's emissions in 1990, which were at an all-time high because of decades of Soviet environmental disregard and inefficiency. Some estimates suggest Russia has therefore already met its 2030 target, if only by accident.