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Paris Maligned: Report says no oil or gas producer 'comes close to being Paris-aligned'

  • Writer: Susie Weldon
    Susie Weldon
  • May 19
  • 2 min read

Updated: May 22

Our friends at Carbon Tracker have released their latest report assessing the oil and gas sector's climate alignment – and it makes for depressing reading.


The report, Paris Maligned III, says 'no oil and gas producer we assessed comes close to being aligned with Paris Agreement goals – and some have regressed in the past year'.


Carbon Tracker, an independent financial think tank, assessed 30 of the largest upstream oil and gas producers against six key metrics to evaluate their alignment with the Paris Agreement (the international treaty, signed by almost all nations in 2015, that seeks to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius).


These included the compatibility of potential or newly approved projects with temperature scenarios; expected production trends over time; the scope and ambition of carbon and methane emissions; and the extent to which executive renumeration incentivises production growth.


The table gives an idea of how far the sector remains from Paris alignment. None of the 30 companies receive higher than a D grade and none receive high scores (a 3 or 4) for more than one of the six metrics.

Graphic from Paris Maligned III report showing holistic assessment of oil and gas producers' climate alignment.
Source: Carbon Tracker's Paris Maligned III report

Some other takeaways from the report:

  • European listed companies fare best, taking seven of the top 10 spots in our ranking table.

  • Spain’s Repsol ranks highest, in part for being one of only two companies with plans to cut hydrocarbon production. UK-based Harbour Energy, newly assessed this year, comes in second place.

  • Newly assessed state-owned national oil companies (NOCs) perform poorly. Three of them, alongside US listed producer ConocoPhillips, take joint last position.

  • US shale producer Ovintiv and Canadian oil sands firms have the least competitive, and thus least climate-compatible, potential project options.

  • Companies’ methane plans, included in our scoring for the first time this year, are typically more climate-aligned than their overall GHG targets. However, Carbon Tracker says significant sources of methane emissions are overlooked.


The results provide 'a reality check', the report says, for investors, financial institutions and policymakers seeking to gauge companies’ real-world actions, beyond stated climate ambitions. It points out that the world is heading for between 2.4 and 3.1 degrees Celsius of warming, well above what scientists have deemed safe.


It warns that investors, particularly those committed to goals or Paris alignment (which is likely to be the case for many faith institutions) must 'assess whether to engage with or continue financing companies that remain misaligned, especially those failing to strengthen their emissions targets over time'.


For faith-consistent investors, the report is stark reminder of the need to develop and maintain clear investment policy guidelines related to oil and gas company securities.

And, while ethical exclusions and divestment may be the course for some FBAOs, engagement with companies about these matters can be a powerful force for the transformative nature of FCI. As FaithInvest Executive Chair Dave Zellner states in our latest research paper Faith-consistent Investing: Challenging the Performance Penalty Myth, (discussed in his post last week): ‘I strongly believe that the bulk of faith-consistent investment efforts should focus on engaging for change and investing for impact.’


Download the Carbon Tracker report below:



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