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Scoping Out ExxonMobil’s Net Zero by 2050 Pledge: Ambition or Greenwashing?

A deep dive into ExxonMobil’s 2050 net zero promise, its limitations, implications, and the wider debate on corporate climate commitments.

By Medha deb

Created on Sep 27, 2025

A deep dive into ExxonMobil’s 2050 net zero promise, its limitations, implications, and the wider debate on corporate climate commitments.

ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil and gas company, has long attracted scrutiny over its environmental practices. Early in 2022, ExxonMobil unveiled an ambition to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 across its operated assets . On the surface, this aligns the corporation with the Paris Agreement goals and places it among the growing number of energy giants publicly pledging climate action. However, a closer look at the announcement, its substance, and the reactions it sparked raises fundamental questions: How meaningful is ExxonMobil’s commitment? What exactly does it cover, and what does it leave out? Is this genuine progress or another act of greenwashing?

The Heart of the Pledge: What ExxonMobil Promised

In January 2022, ExxonMobil declared an ambition to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions for its operated assets by 2050 . This announcement, featured in its ‘Advancing Climate Solutions – 2022 Progress Report,’ marks the company’s first major long-term climate target.

The pledge encompasses ExxonMobil’s global operations: crude refineries, chemical plants, and upstream extraction facilities.
The net zero goal applies exclusively to Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions—those generated by the company’s direct operations and its purchased electricity, heat, and steam .
Emissions from third-party consumption of ExxonMobil’s products (i.e., Scope 3 emissions: gasoline burned in cars, jet fuel in airplanes, etc.) are not included in the pledge .

To advance these goals, ExxonMobil committed over $15 billion through 2027 to lower-emission initiatives. It also outlined detailed roadmaps for reducing emissions at the asset level and highlighted internal efforts such as reducing methane leaks, eliminating routine gas flaring, electrifying operations, and investing in technologies like carbon capture and storage .

The Scope: What’s Included and What’s Not?

At first pass, ExxonMobil’s announcement appears in step with other major oil and gas firms. However, deeper examination exposes significant limitations in the scope of the pledge:

Scope	Description	Included in Exxon’s Pledge?
Scope 1	Direct emissions from ExxonMobil’s own operations	Yes
Scope 2	Indirect emissions from purchased energy (electricity, heat, steam)	Yes
Scope 3	Emissions from customers using Exxon’s oil and gas products	No

According to ExxonMobil’s own reporting, Scope 3 emissions are far greater than its operational footprint. For example, in 2020:

Operational emissions (Scope 1 + 2): ~112 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent
Sold product emissions (Scope 3): ~650 million tonnes CO₂ equivalent

This means that the vast majority of ExxonMobil’s climate impact is excluded from its net zero pledge .

Strategies for Net Zero: How Does ExxonMobil Plan to Get There?

ExxonMobil’s pathway to net zero within its operations centers on a comprehensive roadmap for emission reductions. The roadmap spans several key strategies :

Methane Emissions Mitigation: Reducing leaks and fugitive emissions, a major contributor to greenhouse gases from oil and gas operations.
Eliminating Routine Flaring: Phasing out the practice of burning off excess natural gas during drilling, a process that releases large quantities of CO₂ and methane.
Energy Efficiency: Upgrading equipment and processes to reduce the energy required per unit of production.
Electrification: Powering operations with electricity rather than fossil fuels, increasingly sourced from renewables where possible.
Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS): Developing and deploying technologies to remove CO₂ from industrial emissions and store it underground.
Hydrogen: Investing in hydrogen as a fuel and feedstock, particularly blue hydrogen produced using natural gas with CCUS.
Policy Advocacy: Supporting market-based, cost-effective carbon policies (such as a carbon tax), and working with stakeholders/regulators to encourage wider adoption of emission reduction measures.

Over the next two years, ExxonMobil plans to publish asset-level roadmaps describing the steps toward net zero at each facility. The company aims to cover 90% of its operation-related emissions by the end of the current cycle and complete analyses for the remainder by 2023 .

Investments: Funding the Transition

ExxonMobil has prioritized significant investments to support these efforts:

More than $15 billion committed through 2027 for low-emission initiatives .
This funding will go toward operational upgrades, methane reduction, CCUS, hydrogen production technology, and electrification.
Additional investment opportunities may emerge if policies further accelerate lower-emission technology development or carbon pricing is implemented.

The company positions itself as a leader in large-scale, capital-intensive projects, particularly carbon capture and storage, leveraging decades of experience in subsurface geoscience and engineering.

How Does ExxonMobil’s Pledge Compare Globally?

ExxonMobil’s move follows mounting international and investor pressure:

European oil majors like BP, Shell, and TotalEnergies made net zero by 2050 commitments several years earlier. Some, notably BP, include substantial Scope 3 emission targets in their pledges.
U.S. rivals, such as Chevron, have varying levels of ambition, but none fully address downstream product emissions on the scale demanded by several advocacy groups.
Mega-investors and pension funds across Europe and North America increasingly demand alignment with Paris Agreement targets—and specific reporting on climate risk and emissions intensity.

Nonetheless, ExxonMobil’s announcement was seen as a significant shift in tone and stance for a company long criticized as a climate laggard.

Critical Reactions: Applause, Skepticism, and Accusations of Greenwashing

The pledge drew both modest praise for its scale and sharp criticism for its limits:

Investors welcomed the pledge as a step in the right direction and a sign that ExxonMobil is responding to changing expectations about corporate responsibility .
Environmental advocates voiced skepticism due to the exclusion of product emissions and a lack of clear, enforceable milestones.
- Michael Lewis of Environment Texas called the pledge “greenwashing,” arguing it is driven by shareholder and societal pressures rather than environmental leadership .
- ExxonMobil continues to expand oil production in the Permian Basin, raising questions about the sincerity of its climate ambitions.
- Scope 3 emissions—by far the biggest piece of the climate puzzle—are entirely excluded.
Legal pressures add to the skepticism: Multiple U.S. cities and states have launched lawsuits against ExxonMobil and other majors for allegedly misleading the public on climate change risks .

Accountable Ambition? Action Plan and Transparency

Some climate and finance experts argue that corporate net zero pledges must meet at least three criteria to be credible:

Include all meaningful emissions, notably Scope 3;
Set near-term milestones and interim targets (not just 2050 endpoints);
Commit to transparent progress tracking and disclosure.

ExxonMobil’s plan lacks specific annual or 2030 sub-targets for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and fails to offer a clear timeline for developing and executing the operational roadmaps it promises. The company has indicated some shorter-term emissions reductions in certain areas (such as net zero in the Permian Basin by 2030) . However, stakeholders remain concerned about the lack of detailed implementation plans and the omission of Scope 3 emissions, which represent most of the oil and gas sector’s climate risk.

Roadmap and Interim Targets

According to ExxonMobil’s reporting, its 2030 plans relative to a 2016 baseline include :

20–30% reduction in corporate-wide greenhouse gas intensity
40–50% reduction in upstream greenhouse gas intensity
70–80% reduction in corporate-wide methane intensity
60–70% reduction in corporate-wide flaring intensity

Additionally, ExxonMobil intends to:

Achieve net zero (Scope 1 & 2) in the Permian Basin by 2030
Eliminate routine flaring in line with World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring Initiative
Reach near-zero methane emissions from operated assets

Technology, Policy, and the Future

ExxonMobil emphasizes technology development and supportive public policy as critical enablers on its net zero journey. The company’s preferred tools include:

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS): Large-scale deployment in existing and new facilities
Hydrogen: As a lower-carbon fuel and feedstock
Advocacy for well-designed, market-based climate policies, such as carbon taxes

However, critics fear technological optimism may be misused to delay deeper changes—such as robust emission-reduction targets or transitioning out of fossil fuel production.

Consumer Emissions: The Missing Piece

Almost all experts agree the consumption of ExxonMobil’s oil and gas products drives the vast majority of its climate footprint. By excluding these Scope 3 emissions from its net zero pledge, ExxonMobil sidesteps the heart of climate risk in the sector:

If global oil and gas consumption does not rapidly decline, even total decarbonization of production processes will not deliver the emissions reductions required for climate stabilization.
ExxonMobil’s “operated assets” focus allows the continued expansion of its fossil fuel production and reserves, placing the real world decarbonization burden on consumers and governments rather than on their own business model.
Many other companies and climate advocates argue that genuine net zero must include Scope 3.

Is ExxonMobil’s Net Zero 2050 Pledge Enough?

ExxonMobil’s net zero announcement marks a significant change in rhetoric and posture by America’s largest publicly traded oil & gas company. However, it faces strong criticism for:

Leaving downstream (Scope 3) emissions unaddressed
Offering few near-term or interim targets
Continuing to expand oil and gas production while aligning itself with net zero rhetoric
Providing little transparency on the future of its business model in a decarbonizing world

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What exactly is a ‘net zero’ pledge in the oil and gas industry?

A: Net zero pledges refer to company plans to balance the greenhouse gases they emit (CO₂, methane, etc.) with measures that remove or offset an equivalent amount of emissions, bringing their net footprint to zero by a target year such as 2050. The credibility of such pledges depends heavily on which emissions (Scopes 1, 2, and 3) are included.

Q: Does ExxonMobil’s pledge mean I’ll be using cleaner gasoline or oil products?

A: Not significantly, at least in the short-term. ExxonMobil’s pledge covers emissions from its own operations, not the substantial emissions generated when customers burn its products (Scope 3).

Q: Why is Scope 3 so important in discussions about oil and gas emissions?

A: Scope 3 represents the full emissions caused by downstream use of sold products—by far the largest portion for oil and gas companies. Neglecting Scope 3 means most of the sector’s climate impact continues unchecked even if operations are decarbonized.

Q: How does ExxonMobil’s net zero plan compare to those of BP or Shell?

A: BP and Shell have set net zero targets that, at least in part, include Scope 3 emissions or targets for reducing the net carbon intensity of their energy products. ExxonMobil’s current pledge does not.

Q: Has ExxonMobil indicated it will eventually include Scope 3 emissions?

A: As of the latest announcement, ExxonMobil has not pledged to include Scope 3 emissions in its net zero targets.

Key Takeaways

ExxonMobil’s net zero pledge covers only its operated assets and excludes Scope 3 emissions, which are the majority of its carbon footprint.
Its plan involves upgraded operational efficiency, methane and flaring reductions, renewables, and new technologies like CCUS and hydrogen.
Investor and social pressures have pushed the oil giant toward public climate commitments, but many observers question whether the company’s actions match its rhetoric.
The pledge, while notable in the U.S. context, lags behind more comprehensive international oil and gas sector commitments.
Transparency, inclusion of Scope 3 emissions, and detailed interim targets remain areas of intense scrutiny.

In the ongoing debate over the future of fossil fuels, ExxonMobil’s 2050 net zero ambition underscores both the growing pressure on historic emitters and the persistent gaps between ambition and accountability in the global energy transition.

References

Author

medha deb

Medha Deb is an editor with a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad. She believes that her qualification has helped her develop a deep understanding of language and its application in various contexts.

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