At the AGM of oil company BP, on 21 May 2018, Adam Matthews, Head of Engagement for the Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board made the following statement:
"Good afternoon, my name is Adam Matthews, representing the Church of England Pensions Board and Church Commissioners and a supporter of Climate Action 100.
"We note that some of your oil and gas peers have stepped forward to take increased responsibility for the carbon intensity of the full life cycle of their energy, including when combusted – the ‘Scope 3’ emissions.
"We welcome BP’s recognition of this challenge in its Energy Transition strategy, which includes as key pillars of the strategy ‘Improving our products’ with a focus on lower carbon solutions such as the shift to gas or carbon offsets and also ‘Creating low carbon businesses’ which involves expanding its renewable businesses.
"We believe Scope 3 targets for the full lifecycle energy intensity of the company’s products are required. Such targets will bring focus and direct the company’s capital allocation and activities to advance lower carbon fuels.
"We therefore ask that BP:
- States its responsibility for its Scope 3 product use emissions and reports on these emissions annually
- Sets a clear target for product use carbon intensity of emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
- Work with Professor Simon Dietz at the London School of Economics Grantham Research Institute so that BP's future carbon performance of all of BP's emissions, Scope 1, 2 and 3, can be assessed by the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI)."
Greenhouse gas emissions are categorised into three groups or 'scopes' by the most widely-used international accounting tool, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. While scope 1 and 2 cover direct emissions sources (e.g., fuel used in company vehicles and purchased electricity), scope 3 emissions cover all indirect emissions due to the activities of an organisation. These include emissions from both suppliers and consumers.
* Climate Action 100+ is a five-year initiative led by investors to engage with the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters to improve governance on climate change, curb emissions and strengthen climate-related financial disclosures. To date, 279 investors with nearly USD $30 trillion in assets under management have signed on to the initiative.
* Climate Action 100+ http://www.climateaction100.org/
* Church of England https://www.churchofengland.org/
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