13Received 04.06.2024. Revised 10.07.2024. Accepted 02.09.2024.
Abstract. Carbon credits are an increasingly important tool for decarbonization. They are of particular importance to oil and gas and other energy companies for which burning fuel comprise the core of the business. The two main sources behind carbon credit emission are renewable energy projects and projects to sequester greenhouse gas emissions from natural systems, mainly forests. Without offsetting mechanisms, including nature-based solutions, companies with high carbon footprint are fundamentally unable to achieve net carbon neutrality. Despite challenges, the voluntary carbon credits markets continue to grow. In 2020–2022 the world’s 34 largest companies by capitalization bought certificates equal to 38 million tons of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to the combined greenhouse gas emissions of Ethiopia and Kenya. 50% of these credits were purchased by oil and gas companies and 28% by automobile concerns. In the near future, voluntary carbon markets will continue develop in an imperfect mode of trial and error, which is inherent to all markets at their early stages of development. The author shares the view that a large-scale non-ideal credit/offset market will be more conducive to solving the strategic task of decarbonizing economic growth than an ideally organized but small-scale market. In principle, this position is supported by authoritative regulators, whose policy is critical for the development of a new market. In May 2024, key economic departments of the US government, including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy and, most importantly, the Department of the Treasury, unequivocally supported the development of a carbon credit market that promotes decarbonization, opens up new opportunities for investment in climate projects and enables realization of wide externalities that positively influence economic growth and preservation of biodiversity.
Keywords: oil and gas companies, greenhouse gases emission, decarbonization, carbon credits/offsets, nature-based solutions
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