“How much money do you want from us?” – E24

In October last year, an Equinor employee contacted the British authorities and asked them about the possibilities of sponsoring the UN climate summit, which the British are organizing in Glasgow in 2021.

In the email, the Equinor employee asks what kind of visibility Equinor can get during the summit and how much it will cost:

“If I asked you approximately how much money do you want from us, for what and with what kind of visibility for us?”

The email has the subject field ‘COP26’, which is short for the upcoming climate summit, and has been sent to the UK Department of Trade, Energy and Industry.

In the email, the Equinor employee writes that the company’s participation during the climate summit will be discussed at the Equinor board.

The email is published by the Culture Unstained organization, which works to crack down on fossil energy companies by sponsoring cultural events.

The case is discussed by The Guardian, in an article that BP, Shell and Equinor have had several meetings with the British authorities on what role they can play during the upcoming climate summit.

– An email that should not have been sent.

Erik Haaland, a spokesman for Equinor’s international operations, tells Aftenbladet / E24 that the email should not have been sent.

– We have no plans to sponsor COP26. An email was sent last year and it does not reflect our views on it. We have not taken it further nor do we have current sponsorship plans.

– Why was the email sent?

– It was an email that simply shouldn’t have been sent.

– Who at Equinor sent the email?

– He was an Equinor employee, but I don’t want to go into that.

Haaland says they have regular meetings with the British authorities and have discussed Equinor’s climate ambition, UK renewable investment and hydrogen, but also the upcoming climate summit.

– But then in terms of how a company like Equinor can contribute with activities related to renewable energy, and our work to reduce climate emissions in our business, says Haaland.

Not decided on sponsors

The upcoming climate summit in Glasgow, which has been postponed until November 2021 due to COVID-19, is seen as an important step towards following up on the goals of the Paris Agreement.

According to The Guardian, UK authorities have yet to secure sponsors for the climate summit.

Oil and gas companies are not specifically excluded, but among the criteria that the British set for sponsors is that they must make “a real effort to combat climate change” and have set ambitious goals of net zero emissions by 2050, with a credible short-term action plan. to achieve this.

Net zero emissions mean in practice eliminating practically all emissions and using nature, through tree planting, or technology, to extract CO₂ from the atmosphere, corresponding to the emissions from which it is not eliminated.

Several of the major oil and gas companies, including BP, have set net zero targets for 2050.

– unheard

Arild Hermstad, deputy leader of the Green Party, calls Equinor’s request for sponsorship of the climate summit “unheard of” and says he was upset when he read about it.

– Having large fossil fuel companies, which bear much of the responsibility for the climate crisis, as sponsors, only contributes to undermining the climate negotiations and their legitimacy, says Hermstad.

– I believe that these companies should never be allowed to sponsor an international climate conference that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. If we are to be successful, it is crucial that we succeed in making the carbon economy redundant as quickly as possible.

Hermstad says she thinks it is good that Equinor is now saying that they have no plans to sponsor the climate summit and that the email should not have been sent.

– But it shows that the company operates with many different standards on the environment. The company has a great job to do. How can such things happen? Asks the MDG politician.

Equinors klimasatsing

Equinor aims to reduce emissions from actual production in Norway to near zero by 2050. At the same time, they will cut the so-called net “carbon intensity” of the energy the company produces by half.

This means that each unit of energy the company produces in 2050 will only produce half of today’s emissions. Equinors plans to achieve this primarily by increasing the share of renewables and through “changes in the size and composition of the oil and gas portfolio,” according to the company’s website.

Equinor has not set a target on the size of the company’s issues in absolute numbers in 2050.

Equinor’s Erik Haaland calls the company “among the world leaders in low CO 2 emissions per unit produced”, noting that the company has also stated that they see a potential 30 times renewable energy production by 2030.

– Recently, the incoming CEO said he wants to accelerate the growth of renewables, says Haaland.

Haaland also refers to the “Langskip” project, Norway’s big new investment in carbon capture and storage, in which Equinor plays a key role. If Norway succeeds in establishing a value chain for carbon capture and storage, emissions from industry in other parts of Europe are also expected to be stored under the seabed of the North Sea.