Abstract
As global warming continues to escalate with a potential extreme scenario of temperature rise by 4.5°C by the end of the century (IPCC, 2021), Paris Agreement was set into motion in December 2015 during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France to cut global GHG emissions and limit the increase in global temperature to 2°C by the end of this century. Globally, additional efforts are also underway to further limit the increment to 1.5°C. Committed to the Paris Agreement, PETRONAS has charted its Net Zero Carbon Emission 2050 Pathway.
From the PETRONAS’ Net Zero Carbon Emission 2050 Pathway, the company is committed to achieve net zero through its short-, mid- and long-term targets for GHG and methane emissions for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reduction (with 2019 as the reference year). Scope 1 emissions are linked directly to the day-to-day asset operations while Scope 2 emissions refers to the consumption of energy in running the operations within the company.
In realising the company's short-term target of capping GHG emissions at 49.5 MtCO₂e for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions for Malaysia operations by 2024, a new centralised unit called Enterprise Decarbonisation has been formed to intensify and accelerate groupwide efforts. The unit and its collaborators groupwide have been assessing more than 300 decarbonisation ideas and programmes across the Enterprise according to the Decarbonisation Levers of Zero Routine Flaring and Venting, Electrification, Energy Efficiency and Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS).
The assessment, identification and prioritisation of impactful decarbonisation programmes were conducted via a three-step assessment process with the consideration of several key parameters such as meeting 2024 completion schedule, amount of carbon reduction and feasibility. The assessment provides the identification of approximately 70 impactful decarbonisations efforts for prioritisation out of an inventory of more than 300 programmes and ideas. The outcome of the assessment also provides indication that the most impactful programmes to accelerate decarbonisation efforts in meeting short-term 2024 GHG targets are from the lever of Energy Efficiency which accounts for the majority of the prioritised programme portfolio (68% of prioritised inventory), followed by Zero Routine Flaring and Venting (21% of prioritised inventory). The indications are plausible since the activities involved under both these levers are mostly focusing on operational improvements and minor brownfield modifications that could be completed within a period of 2 years, as compared to a typical Capital project.
To ensure the correct and optimal allocation of the organisation's resources, it is imperative that early analysis and prioritisation are adopted right from the beginning to identify the most impactful programmes as part of the quick-win solutions in meeting short-term targets, within the investment appetite of the organisation.