Nature-based solutions
Our aim 18 is championing nature-based solutions and enabling certified natural climate solutions
We aim to use nature-based solutions (NbS) to deliver value and contribute to our people and planet aims in our operations and through our business activities. We will also support the development of scalable markets for certified natural climate solutions (NCS) that help the world reduce deforestation, get to net zero and deliver environmental and social benefits.
We have set two objectives for this aim: to use NbS to deliver value and contribute to our people and planet aims; and to enable emissions reductions through investments in certified Natural Climate Solutions (NCS).
What are nature-based solutions and natural climate solutions?
Nature-based solutions are actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human wellbeing and biodiversity benefits.
Natural climate solutions are a subset of nature-based solutions that focus on actions to reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions through nature conservation, restoration and improved land management.
Nature-based solutions
In 2023 we worked on finalizing our NbS action plan, which focuses on ways of embedding nature into our engineering designs for new projects and existing operations.
We are currently focused on raising awareness and improving understanding of NbS and its potential applications, and on identifying where we can embed it into our engineering practices.
Natural climate solutions
We aim to support efforts to scale up high-integrity NCS, which can deliver both environmental and social benefits and contribute to climate change mitigation.
We believe that climate finance channelled through the voluntary carbon market can play an important role in accelerating the energy transition and meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.
We support a well-designed, high-integrity voluntary carbon market that builds on advances in technologies and methodologies, as well as new forms of governance, to maintain and enhance its credibility.
In 2023 we expanded the Centre of Excellence (CoE) in our Low Carbon Trading business. The CoE comprises a team of subject matter experts responsible for the screening and due diligence of carbon credit projects as well as the ongoing monitoring and management of our carbon credit portfolio.
Our portfolio
We are learning more over time and working to create new high-integrity opportunities in the voluntary carbon market. We continued to build our portfolio of NCS voluntary carbon projects in 2023. For example, in Zambia, we entered into an agreement with BioCarbon Partners to support the Kafue-Zambezi Community REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) project. The conservation efforts in this project are community-led and they aim to benefit up to 400,000 people in 40 chiefdoms. The project will be developed using the 2023 Verified Carbon standard consolidated methodology for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation to quantify emissions reductions.
Working in collaboration
We have enhanced our external engagement to support the growth of high-integrity carbon credits in carbon markets. We have participated in and contributed to:
- the EU Commission’s open consultation on the development of the EU 2040 Climate Target
- a paper on the evolving voluntary carbon market from the International Emissions Trading Association.
We also participate in several NCS related trade associations:
- Oil and Gas Climate Initiative NCS working group
- World Business Council for Sustainable Development NCS and climate working groups
- Natural Climate Solutions Alliance CCS+ Initiative.
