Shell unveils plans for emissions cuts

Energy giant Shell rolled out new plans Thursday for cutting emissions and ultimately becoming carbon neutral by 2050. 

Central to its path forward are the closures of seven refineries and plans to cut down production of gasoline and diesel fuel by 55 percent in the next 10 years. Shell also predicted that its oil production peaked in 2019 and will fall by between 1 and 2 percent each year. 

“Our accelerated strategy will drive down carbon emissions and will deliver value for our shareholders, our customers and wider society,” Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement outlining the plans.

“We must give our customers the products and services they want and need — products that have the lowest environmental impact. At the same time, we will use our established strengths to build on our competitive portfolio as we make the transition to be a net-zero emissions business in step with society.”

To scrap or offset carbon emissions, Shell said it plans on increasing its output of liquefied natural gas, low-carbon fuels such as bioethanol and hydrogen. It will also boost the number of electric vehicle charging stations to roughly 500,000 by 2025, a jump from the 60,000 that are available today, and invest $100 million annually in “nature-based solutions.”

Shell said it is making the changes to help achieve the goal of limiting global warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius.

It will still have six functioning refineries, down from 13, that will produce both chemicals and energy.