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TotalEnergies Admits 2050 Carbon Neutrality Unlikely
26 Mar
Summary
- TotalEnergies states global carbon neutrality by 2050 is unachievable.
- The company will re-evaluate its own climate ambitions.
- Societal transition pace is too slow for Paris Agreement goals.
French oil company TotalEnergies announced on Thursday that the world will likely not achieve carbon neutrality by the 2050 target set by the Paris Agreement. The company cited the current pace of societal transition away from fossil fuels as insufficient to meet these ambitious climate goals.
In its annual sustainability report, TotalEnergies acknowledged that its own carbon neutrality ambition must be reassessed and adapted over time. This adjustment is necessary due to evolving technical innovations, public policies, and consumer choices influencing the global energy system.
The company previously aimed for carbon neutrality by 2050, a goal now deemed unattainable given current trends. Similar to European peers BP and Shell, TotalEnergies highlighted that the speed of society's shift away from hydrocarbons is a critical factor in achieving such targets.
TotalEnergies also indicated it cannot formulate 'Net Zero' targets according to European reporting standards. The company reported emitting 368 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2025, a slight decrease from 2024, primarily from clients burning fuels, which remains within its target range.
