SBTi, the oil and gas industry standard on hold, oil giants reject it.

Shell, Aker BP, and Enbridge, three major oil and gas energy groups, have decided to abandon a six-year process to help define a net-zero emissions strategy for the oil and gas sector. According to the Financial Times, the decision came after draft standards from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) under discussion stipulated that companies could no longer develop new oil or gas fields once they submitted their climate plan to the SBTi, or by the end of 2027. The drafts also envisaged a significant reduction in fossil fuel production .

The three companies withdrew from the SBTi expert advisory group between late 2023 and early 2024. Shell said its representative left the group after seeing a draft that "did not substantially reflect the industry's views," reiterating that the standard should be realistic and provide companies with adequate flexibility to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. Aker BP cited its "limited ability to influence the standard" for its withdrawal, while specifying that this decision "in no way reflects a lack of commitment to addressing climate change." Enbridge declined to comment.

Following these defections, the SBTi's work on the oil and gas industry standard was officially "paused" for "organizational capacity reasons," although members of the expert group claimed that the project had been effectively deprioritized , despite having initially been designated a top priority. The SBTi denied that the suspension was related to the energy companies' withdrawals, arguing that "there is no basis for such claims."

Meanwhile, the SBTi has also weakened its guidelines for financial institutions, released yesterday , regarding the cessation of financing or insuring projects related to new oil and gas fields . The deadline for implementing these commitments, initially scheduled for 2025, has been postponed to 2030. According to sources familiar with the matter, this decision was made after the installation of the new SBTi CEO, David Kennedy , last March, and with his explicit support.

The Science Based Targets initiative is a voluntary but highly influential body: companies such as Apple, AstraZeneca, and other multinationals have sought its approval to strengthen the credibility of their climate strategies. However, the abandonment by major energy players raises questions about the real applicability and acceptability of the proposed standards, in a context where global warming continues to be largely fueled by the combustion of fossil fuels .