Air Products Beefs up its Climate Goals
Air Products is strengthening its sustainability goals, pledging to allot at least $4 billion in fresh capital for the transition to clean energy over the next five years. This builds on the more than $11 billion already commited to real zero- and low-carbon hydrogen projects.
The US industrial gases producer’s latest plans boost its total commitment to first-mover projects to $15 billion through 2027. The company added that it continues to see significant opportunities for hydrogen and carbon capture technologies.
Part of the upgraded strategy is a new layer of CO2 emissions management. Target of the new Third by 30 Scope 3 commitment, on top of the existing Scope 1 and 2 goals, is to reduce the intensity Scope 3 emissions by one-third by 2030, using 2015 as the baseline. Air Products also is joining the growing list of industrial companies pledging to reach net-zero carbon emissions from operations by 2050.
To this end, the Lehigh, Pennsylvania-based gases producer has identified transition plans for new investments and modifications of existing assets, including low- and zero-carbon hydrogen. It also intends to continually increase its use of renewable energy and convert its fleet of about 2,000 trucks to hydrogen fuel cell zero-emission vehicles.
Over their lifetime, Air Products said the projects in planning are expected to avoid more than 500 million tonnes of CO2e, equivalent to the emissions from more than 220 billion liters of diesel used in heavy-duty trucks. This is in addition to the avoided emissions for customers enabled by its products and technologies.
In line with the net-zero commitment, the company said it is engaging with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI), a leader in mobilizing the private sector on climate action. As SBTI does not currently have a methodology for the chemicals sector, Air Products will participate in the SBTI Expert Advisory Group to help support development of the sectoral framework.
Achieving the net-zero goal will also require strong policy and regulatory support that promotes the adoption of key technologies to address the pace and scale required to support a net-zero future, CEO, president and chairman Seifi Ghasemi stressed.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
