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CDP’s new report, analyzing a US$1.2tn grouping of the world’s major publicly-listed international oil and gas companies reveals a transatlantic divide as European companies outperform their US peers in preparedness for a low-carbon future by beginning to invest in alternative energy sources and shifting to gas. 

• Emissions footprint of oil and gas industry and its products account for approximately 50% of global CO2 emissions; 
• European majors outperform their US peers in the shift to gas, investments in low-carbon technologies and on wider climate governance and strategy; 
• Current business models continue to rely heavily on finding and proving reserves. Traditional industry performance metrics (and their interpretations) potentially outdated with peak oil demand on horizon; 
• Investors may be at risk as companies are currently only obligated to report proved reserves, with limited insight into how sensitive estimates are to oil price volatility; 
• Statoil, Eni and Total are best performing companies on carbon-related metrics relative to the peers; Suncor, ExxonMobil, and Chevron rank lowest of companies assessed. 

The report from CDP – voted no. 1 climate change research provider by institutional investors– finds that the industry needs better capital discipline to secure its place in a low-carbon future through lowering its cost base or returning capital to shareholders. The research also reveals that the absence of robust data on probable and possible reserves is a significant loss of valuable information to investors looking to compare asset portfolio risk across companies. 

You can view the executive summary of the report here. 

Please see the press release here.