The CEO's Blog, 22/4/2021

Restore Our Earth: Earth Day 2021

Earth Day image 1.jpg

Dear Energizers,

 

 

“Everything comes from the earth, and everything ends in the earth.” -Xenophanes, Ancient Greek philosopher

Energean and the World today celebrate the 51st anniversary of Earth Day, the theme of which is “Restore Our Earth.” A number of special environmental events have happened on Earth Day since its inception on 22 April 1970, including signing of the Paris Agreement at the United Nations in 2016 – the most significant climate accord in history that, at a minimum, aims to keep the increase in global average temperature to below 2°C. Achieving this target will not be easy, but across the world we have seen that the global mindset has shifted from ‘if’ to ‘how’ to make the climate transition happen. Indeed, in a way, what the last few years have taught us, is that every day is Earth Day, and that the time for immediate action is now.

But where does Energean fit into this story? There can be no doubt that 2020 was a challenging year for everyone in our industry, but we have remained steadfast in our commitment to achieving our net zero emissions target as early as possible, and taken significant immediate steps to address the near-term challenges facing society and the environment from the impact of climate change.

Today, I am pleased to launch Energean’s Official Climate Change Policy, which sets out the core principles of action that we have adopted in order to achieve our net zero carbon emissions target. Core components of the policy include continued shift in production to gas, enhancement of Board oversight of climate-related issues through introduction of the new Environmental, Safety and Social Responsibility Committee and full incorporation of climate-related risks and opportunities into all decision-making processes. We are focused on continuous identification of risks, realisation of opportunities, and enhancing disclosure to ensure full transparency to all stakeholders. Our policy documents what we have been doing already, and also provides a blueprint and commitment for all future activities; our licence to operate.

In 2020, we have already taken great strides, recording a 67% reduction in carbon emissions versus our base year of 2019, and we expect to increase this reduction to 85% within three years. We also launched our Scope 2 reductions strategy, in which we aim to use electricity generated by renewable sources across as many Energean sites of interest as possible. So far, we have rolled this out at Prinos, at our premises in Israel and at the EDINA operative site in Croatia. In 2021, we aim to roll out this “green electricity” across all operated sites in Italy.

We have made great progress so far, however, I will stress that our decarbonisation journey has only just begun. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Greek Revolution of 1821, and its importance to the modern world and the countries of Europe in bringing the principles of ‘The Enlightenment.’ Indeed, it is in Greece that we aim to start our own Energy Transition Revolution, beginning with the conversion of Prinos, currently Greece’s only producing oil and gas field, into the first Carbon Capture and Storage project in the Eastern Mediterranean. In doing so, we will begin the important process of ‘Restoring our Earth’ and giving back what we have taken – in effect, becoming the solution. In the longer-term, blue hydrogen projects and other emerging technologies, together with reforestation and afforestation initiatives, may also play a significant role.

I want to close by saying that we are rapidly establishing ourselves as the leading independent, gas-focused E&P company in the Mediterranean region, with an aspiration to lead the region’s energy transition. But this only the beginning. To achieve this transition will require all of us to take ownership and play a role, both big and small. Combined with ‘Our Ethos’, dedication, commitment and hard work, I believe that all our aspirations are achievable and more. Thank you for your continued commitment and support.