Oil and gas companies are increasingly using mergers and acquisitions to offload emissions from their own balance sheets to meet corporate climate goals without actually reducing emissions, according to a report released Tuesday by the Environmental Defense Fund.

Looking at mergers and acquisitions between 2017 and 2021, EDF found 155 deals totaling $84.6 billion that resulted in the movement of assets from companies with zero net promises, and 211 deals worth $115.6 billion. billions of dollars worth of companies with stated methane emission reduction targets. In total, transactions involving “reduced environmental commitment transfers” have increased from 10% in 2018 to 15% in 2021. For example, the weekly flaring of the Umuechem oil field in Nigeria has increased from a maximum of 2 million cubic feet of global warming methane flare per week in 2020, jumped almost overnight to 10 million after it was sold to a private equity firm, a 700% increase.

“You can transfer your assets to another company and take emissions off your own books, but that doesn’t equate to a positive impact on the planet if it’s done without any safeguards in place,” said Andrew Baxter, director of energy transition at EDF. say it New York Times.

Sources: New York Times$, Reuters, Financial Times

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Republished from Nexus Media.

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