Italian multinational oil and gas company Eni SpA committed to eliminating all carbon dioxide emissions from its oil and gas exploration and production operations by the end of the next decade, in part by planting forests on a large scale. The Italian giant’s plan, which entails planting 20 million acres of forest in Africa, is the latest example of major oil companies bowing to pressure to do more to prevent runaway climate change. Its European peers Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc have also set targets to reduce the carbon emitted from their own operations. The forests planted in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ghana should be removing about 20 million tons a year of CO2 from the atmosphere by 2030, Eni said. That would offset residual emissions from the company’s upstream business, which it also plans to reduce through greater operational efficiency and minimizing waste. Eni will spend about $1.1 billion on “circular economy” initiatives such as these over the next four years.

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