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Climate Action 100+ assessed 10 top oil companies

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Companies 'alarmingly unprepared', TPI Centre's Sharp

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U.S. companies perform worse than European peers

(Adds link to analysis in paragraph 2)

By Simon Jessop

LONDON, March 27 (Reuters) - The current low-carbon

transition plans of 10 of Europe's and North America's biggest

listed oil and gas companies are not good enough to assess the

risks involved, the world's leading investor climate action

group said on Wednesday.

Climate Action 100+ said the companies including Exxon Mobil ( XOM )

, Shell and Chevron ( CVX ) were assessed using

its sector-specific Net Zero Standard for Oil & Gas framework by

the independent Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) Centre.

The other companies included in the analysis were

TotalEnergies, ConocoPhillips ( COP ), BP,

Occidental Petroleum ( OXY ), Eni, Repsol and

Suncor Energy ( SU ).

Each was assessed using indicators and sub-indicators under

three broad themes - Disclosure, where companies are rewarded

for providing information about their activities; Alignment,

which tests their climate ambition; and Climate Solutions, which

tracks their investments in greener activities.

The aim of the Net Zero Standard for Oil & Gas (NZS)

framework is to allow to assess to what degree the disclosures

and strategies of companies in the sector are aligned with the

Paris Agreement on climate.

Overall, the companies met just 19% of all the NZS metrics.

European companies performed the best, led by TotalEnergies, BP

and Eni, with North American companies weaker across all three

themes.

Shell and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) declined to comment on the

findings. The other companies did not immediately reply or were

not immediately able to comment on the report.

While several companies are targeting net-zero emissions by

2050, a lack of detail on their planned use of carbon capture

technology meant it was hard to tell how they would get there,

CA100+ said.

On the issue of fossil fuel production, which the

International Energy Agency says will need to be reined in to

hit the world's climate goals - a move acknowledged at the COP28

climate talks in Dubai in November - few firms appeared to

concur.

Among disclosure sub-indicators, none of the companies

acknowledged the "need for substantial production reduction

across the industry". Of the 10, only Repsol and TotalEnergies

guided on long-term oil, gas or their combined production.

None of the companies provided the desired detail on their

planned greenfield capital expenditure plans, the report added.

"The inaugural assessment of the Net Zero Standard for Oil

and Gas delivers a clear message: while certain companies

showcase commendable strides towards robust climate strategy,

the overall industry landscape remains alarmingly underprepared

for the transition," said Jared Sharp, Project Lead for Net Zero

Standards, TPI Centre.

The hope is that the analysis will be able to help inform

engagement by asset managers with the boards of the companies,

as the season for annual general meetings picks up pace in the

weeks ahead, Sharp said.