Carbon Offsetting

Carbon Offsetting at Galp

What is carbon offsetting

Carbon neutrality is achieved when Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions are reduced to zero or when the emissions from a particular activity are offset by removing the same amount of emissions through natural or technological processes.

How it works

Offsetting CO2 emissions is done through carbon offset credits/offsets

A carbon offset credit represents a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to one tonne of CO2. These credits can be traded and used to offset emissions that take place elsewhere in the world.

These credits are verified and certified by independent entities that guarantee their quality and that they meet strict quality criteria and are registered in a global registry where they are cancelled at the moment they are used to offset GHG emissions.

How we select our projects

In the selection phase of activities and projects that will enable the production of carbon offset credits, Galp takes into consideration a robust set of quality criteria.

Carbon offset credits/offsets can be produced by various types of activities and projects that either reduce or capture/sequester greenhouse gas emissions.

These reductions and removals can result from:

- natural-based solutions: such as emissions avoided by improvements in ecosystem and forest management processes or CO2 removal by reforestation or afforestation projects) or

- technology-based solutions: such as emissions avoided by replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy or replacing polluting equipment with more efficient ones, or CO2 removals through direct air capture or carbon capture and sequestration using bioenergy).

In order to ensure the high quality of the credits, Galp invests in the purchase of carbon credits verified and certified by internationally credible and recognised entities, such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or Gold Standard.

In addition, we privilege projects located within the geographical areas in which Galp operates and we always seek that these have associated social and/or environmental co-benefits allowing us to extend our positive impact on local communities, in addition to the associated reduction of emissions, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030.

All projects from which Galp purchases emission offset credits must ensure that the reduction of emissions is real, unique, verifiable, additional (i.e., that it would not have taken place without the financing of the project through the sale of emission offset credits) and permanent (the sequestered emissions are not released back into the atmosphere).

How we use carbon offset credits

At Galp, our priority is to reduce the emissions from our activities and the carbon intensity of the energy we produce and sell to our clients. As such, in relation to 2017 figures, we aim to reduce the emissions from our operations by 40% by 2030 (on an equity basis), the carbon intensity of the energy we produce by 40% and that of the energy we sell by 20% also by 2030.

To achieve these targets we are not considering the use of carbon offset credits. However, these can be used to neutralise some residual emissions that may remain in 2050, date in which the company aims to achieve carbon neutrality.

In the present and in the near future, Galp will use carbon offset credits to offer its clients the possibility of offsetting their emissions, should they wish to do so, and to offer energy products in which GHG emissions are already offset, thus contributing to neutralise some of the clients' emissions and to contribute to the development of projects that generate emission offset credits among other possible benefits for the communities in which they are located. 

Initiatives