Before COP28, ADNOC Raises The Bar for Carbon Capture Targets

ADNOC, the UAE's national oil firm, is raising its carbon capture targets in order to attain a net-zero target and improve its environmental image ahead of the forthcoming Conference of the Parties (COP28) climate meeting.

ADNOC has set an ambitious aim of capturing 10 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year by 2030, a huge increase from its earlier goal of 5 million tonnes. This action is part of the company's larger plan to attain net zero emissions from its own operations by 2045.

With the UAE hosting the 28th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) in November 2023, ADNOC's statement demonstrates the country's commitment to addressing the global climate problem and finding long-term solutions.

The UAE, as one of OPEC's top producers, has been scrutinised for its ambitions to enhance oil production capacity in the future years. Despite the doubled carbon capture objective, ADNOC, the UAE's largest oil producing business, will only be able to reduce a percentage of its emissions because its own upstream operations emit 24 million tonnes of CO2 yearly.

ADNOC recently launched its second carbon capture project at the Habshan natural gas processing facility, which aims to remove gas from the environment. This project, when finished, will raise ADNOC's carbon capture capacity to 2.3 million tonnes per year. The company is also working on a smaller project to capture and inject carbon emissions from a steel factory into an oil field.

While lowering emissions is laudable, critics contend that more must be done to shift away from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy sources. The success of ADNOC's carbon capture effort will be widely scrutinised as the globe looks for viable climate change solutions.

Source: carbonherald.com