Sasol is on the list of 57 largest companies that emit 80% of the world's CO.2 emissions from 2016 to 2022, according to a new report from the Carbon Major Database earlier this month.
Sasol is ranked 56th. Carbon Majors is a database of historical production data from 122 of the world's largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers. The top emitters from 2016 to 2022 are China State Coal Company (grouped as one company in the report), Saudi Aramco, Gazprom, Coal India, and state-run Iranian Oil Company.
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Increase in carbon dioxide emissions
Despite the Paris Agreement on climate change signed in 2015, carbon emissions by many of the fossil fuel companies on the Carbon Majors List have increased over the past seven years compared to the previous seven years.
World CO in 20232 Emissions rose to an all-time high, according to the International Energy Agency.
Sasol was ranked 47th in the Carbon Majors report for historical emissions from 1854 to 2022. Two other South African companies, Cerity Resources and Exaro Resources, were also listed as carbon majors in both 2016-2022 and 1854-2022.
According to the 2023 Climate Change Report, Sasol's total emissions increased slightly from 2022, with carbon dioxide emissions in 2023 exceeding 64,000 kilotonnes.
Sasol said in the report that the increase in total emissions was due to “increased production rates, process inefficiencies, off-site power interruptions and natural gas shortages.”
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The company said it expects production levels to increase in 2024, resulting in a further increase in emissions at the Secunda site.
Commenting on the report, spokesperson Matebelo Mottlounge told GroundUp that the company had achieved a reduction of around 5% from the 2017 baseline “through continued mitigation interventions”. However, this figure does not include emissions from the Natref refinery or operations in Mozambique.
Sasol is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. Regarding the Paris Agreement, which South Africa is a signatory to, emissions must be reduced to zero by 2050 to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.
Asked to comment on the Carbon Measures report, Mottlounge said the company had “not yet been given an opportunity to consult on the report or its contents and has not yet reviewed its contents in detail.” Ta.
However, he said Sasol was “committed to decarbonising its operations and achieving its 2050 net zero target”.
However, shareholder activist group Just Share has expressed concern that Sasol will not be able to deliver on its promises.
Achieving goals is now a difficult task
Emma Schuster, senior climate risk analyst at JustShare, told GroundUp that the company “faces a narrowing window to achieve its promised goals.” She said Sasol had not made “tangible progress” against its targets.
Schuster said Sasol had a “20-year history of failing to meet its emissions targets” and had no mechanism in place to hold those responsible to account. “Its emissions, and those of most other carbon major countries, continue to increase,” she says.
Just Share and the Center for Environmental Rights have for years expressed concern that Sasol has not shown real signs of reducing its emissions.
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As the “largest source of greenhouse gases that drive climate change,” companies on the Carbon Majors list “have an extraordinary responsibility to reduce their emissions,” Schuster said. He said the fossil fuel industry continues to generate significant profits through expansion, despite record emissions over the past few years.
Sasol is moving from renewable energy to producing green hydrogen, recently announcing that it has signed a contract to supply 69 MW of renewable energy to its Sasolburg site. This is one of “the first of several agreements that Sasol plans to finalize in the coming months to secure the supply of renewable energy needed for the production of green hydrogen.” the company said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on GroundUp and was republished with permission. Read the original article here.