Exxon Mobil, which has long been criticized by environmentalists and some investors and elected leaders for not doing enough to contain climate change, said on Monday that it will invest $ 3 billion over the next five years in energy projects that reduce climate change. emissions.
The company said the first area in which it will work is to capture carbon dioxide emissions from industrial plants and store the gas so that it does not enter the atmosphere, where it contributes to global warming. Many climate experts have said that carbon capture and sequestration will be critical in the fight against climate change.
Exxon said it was creating a new business called ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions and is working on 20 carbon capture projects worldwide, including in Texas, the Netherlands, Singapore and Qatar.
The shift comes as the Biden government promises to tighten regulations in the fossil fuel industry, raise fuel economy standards for cars and take other measures to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Some institutional investors and environmental groups are also putting pressure on Exxon and other companies to reduce emissions from their operations and the use of their products.
Exxon, in particular, has been a frequent target of such campaigns because, unlike European oil giants like BP and Royal Dutch Shell, it has not invested in renewable energy or sought to set ambitious climate goals.
Exxon’s announcement came just days after General Motors said it intended to stop selling oil-powered cars and trucks by 2035 and only sell zero-emission vehicles.