South Africa based major petrochemical corporation, Sasol Limited, has devised new targets towards its resolution of becoming a net-zero carbon emission company by 2050. Sasol, under its revised target, will be slashing down its carbon emissions by 30%, instead of previously decided 10% reduction, by the end of 2030. 

The decision was taken in the wake of increasing pressure from the environmentalists and company’s investors urging it to take critical steps to control the large extent of pollution generated by the company’s production plants that are the highest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the continent.

The company will be initiating with three major steps in this direction which includes elevating the use of natural gas as a transition fuel, adopting renewable power sources, and implementing efficient utilization of energy.

Sasol exports around 4 million of coal every year and annually devours 40 million tonnes of coal from its mines for the production of motor fuel. The gradual substitution of coal with natural gas is expected to reduce the company’s greenhouse emissions to 44.73 million tonnes from the existing amount of 63.9 million tonnes. However, the company does not promise 100% coal-independent plant operations until 2040.

Natural gas is a naturally occurring, highly flammable hydrocarbon, largely composed of methane and other higher alkanes. It is the source of energy for generating electricity, cooking, and heating. Natural gas, due to its low carbon emission quality in comparison to coal and crude oil, is being preferred as an efficient transition fuel.

As per ChemAnalyst, natural gas is seeing heavy demand after a strong rebound in the transport sector and industrial activities in the third quarter of the running year. Many companies are drawing towards natural gas-based plant operations owing to the growing awareness and the formulation of stringent government laws for environment protection. The increasing dependence of a major company like Sasol on natural gas is expected to increase its demand to a new level. This may also lead to a rise in natural gas prices which is already breaking records in many other regions of the world. On the positive side, this move will come as a relief in the African region where rising pollution due to industrial growth is a major point of concern.