Chevron updates policy for climate change governance

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Chevron has updated a report from March 2018 "describing the company's approach to managing climate change risks and its resilience under a low carbon scenario."

"This update highlights work we are doing to address climate change risks to our business and new opportunities we're pursuing," said Michael Wirth, Chevron's chairman and chief executive officer, according to a Thursday release.

In response to discussions with investors and other stakeholders, Chevron is providing more insight on climate change governance, the company statement said.

"The Board established greenhouse gas emissions performance measures that will be a factor in determining compensation for executives and nearly all other employees beginning in 2019," Chevron reported.

"The metrics aim to reduce methane emissions intensity by 20 to 25 percent and flaring intensity by 25 to 30 percent from 2016-2023, aligned with the timing of milestones in the Paris Agreement," it added.

The report came a week after BP announced it plans to increase disclosure on its efforts to fight climate change after requests from two groups of investors.

Chevron continues to invest in companies and technology designed to lower emissions and advance lower-carbon business opportunities, the company said.

The Paris agreement's central aim is to strengthen global response to the threat of climate change by limiting global temperature rise this century to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Additionally, the agreement aims to increase the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, and at making finance flows consistent with a low emissions and climate-resilient pathways to do so.