LONDON (Reuters) -Shell has given up on specific spending and volume targets for carbon offsets, also known as nature-based solutions (NBS), Chief Executive Wael Sawan told the Energy Intelligence Forum on Tuesday.
Shell had previously said it wanted to invest around $100 million a year on offsets and use credits worth up to 120 million tons of CO2 equivalent per year by 2030.
But some major offset credit-generating projects, including in forest preservation, have come under scrutiny for exaggerating their climate impact, while some climate activists argue any offset is a fig leaf for continued use of hydrocarbons.
“Both numbers we have retired,” Sawan said speaking via video link after climate protesters blocked the entrance to the conference in London for several hours.
“(This) is to continue to drive my nature-based solutions organisation, not to spend the certain amount or not to spend at any cost to get a certain number of credits, but to actually drive what was going to be a viable business for us as a company.”
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla, Ron Bousso and Marwa Rashad; Editing by Susan Fenton)
