Climate change is the greatest challenge that is the world is facing today. It is a man-made problem, which therefore requires man-made solutions. Every part of society has a role to play, including not only the state and citizens, but also the private sector. Those industries that contribute most to rising global temperatures and other environmental harms must shoulder the largest burden.

TotalEnergies is a French-based energy multinational founded in 1924, which specialises in the hydrocarbon sector. It has over 100,000 employees worldwide and in 2021, reported a revenue of 190 billion US dollars. The company has been active in Qatar for over 85 years since it first began operations in the Gulf state in 1936, where it today employs 91 people working on a number of oil, gas and other energy-related projects.

TotalEnergies in Qatar

The French multinational has a total of five joint downstream ventures in Qatar, along with two oil refineries, which are referred to as Laffan Refinery 1 and Laffan Refinery 2. About 300,000 barrels of oil are processed each and every day. A 365 km pipeline from Ras Laffan in Qatar then transports the oil to Taweelah in the UAE. TotalEnergies is currently working with and through various Qatari stakeholders such as QatarEnergy, QAPCO and Qatargas.

Furthermore, the company also has polymer and polyethylene production facilities in the Gulf state. These produce materials that have been used in the fight against Covid, to make garments, masks, and syringes. Indeed, whether upstream or downstream, virtually no part of Qatar’s energy sector is untouched by TotalEnergies. Yet this great presence in the fossil fuel industry comes with great responsibility.

“TotalEnergies takes climate change very seriously,” according to Ghazi Shahin, who became the company’s Managing Director in Qatar in summer 2021. The company recently rebranded from Total to TotalEnergies and the company logo was changed, too, Shahin says in an interview with Abdullah Hares  “to prove that we are serious about climate change.” These – quite cosmetic – changes were however also accompanied with other – more substantial – developments.

Possible solutions to curb climate change

The solutions include moving into the solar power sector, which the company has a joint venture for in Qatar. Carbon capture, storage, and utilisation are other areas the company is moving into, with a research project underway in cooperation with a Qatari university. The company also promotes social responsibility and charitable causes, sponsoring beach clean-ups and tree planting in order to make a positive contribution to the wider society in which it operates.

TotalEnergies is also involved in sports. The polyethylene plastics it produces have been used for seating in the stadiums that will host this year’s World Cup in Qatar. Furthermore, the multinational is also a proud sponsor of the Qatari Women’s Tennis Federation. The promotion of individual health through sports is linked here with the promotion of community health more generally.

TotalEnergies sustainable vision

The aim of TotalEnergies sustainability programme is carbon neutrality by 2030, which is to be achieved via cooperation with Qatari partners so that operations can be placed on an increasingly sustainable foundation. “We’re definitely excited to partner up with our Qatari partners and to develop a sustainability programme together,” Shahin noted, “as well as implementing projects to reduce the greenhouse gases.”

This programme dovetails with Qatar’s own development strategy, the Qatar National Vision 2030, which aims by that date to transform the Gulf state into a dynamic modern sustainable economy. The company, which is a major plastic producer, is also targeting 30 per cent of all its plastic to be recyclable by 2030. Projects are already underway in Europe, with plans to follow in Qatar shortly.

Sustainable development has thus become front and centre of TotalEnergies corporate strategy, with the company looking to provide energy that is ever more affordable, reliable and clean.

As Shahin recognised, there is no easy answer to the problems associated with modern industry’s impact on the biosphere. Products like plastic may have become the villain in the climate change story, but we continue to use them because there are many positive benefits to be had, from packaging food to making medical equipment. So too with the gas and oil that powers the modern global economy.

to conclude, there is no magic bullet that can eradicate the need for these products and materials overnight. Instead, people and companies alike need to be made more aware of the need to use these products responsibly, in a way which limits unnecessary waste. In this respect companies like TotalEnergies have a big role to play and any moves towards more sustainable practices should be welcomed by all concerned.

“We like to contribute to the society we live in,” Shahin observed of the company’s broader objectives, “and to contribute to humanity.” That is a commendable ethic which, if followed in respect the company’s operations in Qatar and elsewhere, will produce positive results. Whether that will be enough to avert man-made climate change is, however, more difficult to say.

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