The company has signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh state governments to plant 0.75 million trees by 2030, in its efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Through these three MOUs approximately 500,000 tonnes of CO2 will be sequestered by 2050. This is equivalent to the emissions required to electrify 4,500 Indian households every year. Cairn Oil & Gas (“the Company”) India’s largest private oil and gas exploration and production company and a unit of Vedanta Group, is pleased to announce that it has signed three separate MoUs with the state governments of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh along with their district administrations for biodiversity conservation through mass plantation of 0.75 million trees. The carbon captured through the mass plantation is equivalent to emissions needed to electrify 4,500 Indian households.
The three MoUs account for 38 percent of the 2 million trees that Cairn has committed to plant by 2030. The partnerships are following through on Cairn’s ESG roadmap which delivers on the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals. The carbon sequestered through these MoUs will be used by Cairn for internal carbon offsetting to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This initiative will be in line with India’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets – for development of carbon sinks. The first MoU was signed with the Rajasthan Forest Development Agency, Government of Rajasthan to develop a carbon sink by planting 0.35 million trees over 700 hectares of forest land in Barmer district. The second MoU was signed with the Government of Gujarat to develop 60 hectares of mangrove forest in Suvali, situated in Cairn’s offshore Cambay asset in Gujarat. The man-made mangrove project will have an estimated sequestration potential of 30,000 tonnes CO2 per decade, and will significantly offset the carbon emission of the Suvali operations. The third MoU was signed with the Andhra Pradesh Forest Department and district administration to conduct biodiversity conservation projects in and around the Company’s Ravva offshore operations. The project involves plantation of 0.3 million man-made mangroves by the year 2030.
Commenting on the announcement, Nick Walker, CEO, Cairn Oil & Gas, said, “We, at Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Limited, are committed to achieving our ESG goals by implementing sustainable initiatives across our operations. These MoUs with the Rajasthan Forest Development Agency, Government of Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh Forest Department are a testament to our dedication towards promoting biodiversity conservation and mitigating climate change. We are proud to collaborate with these esteemed organisations and look forward to executing these projects diligently, thereby, contributing positively towards the environment and society.” Cairn Oil & Gas in its sustained efforts has already developed 1,644 acres of greenbelt across its operational areas including 279 acres of mangroves along the coasts of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Many such on-ground interventions are aimed to contribute to the overall company’s ESG purpose of ‘Transforming energy responsibly for securing India’s energy future’ though the three pillars – Transforming the Planet, Transforming Communities and Transforming the Workplace.
About Cairn Oil & Gas
Cairn Oil & Gas, Vedanta Limited, is the largest private oil and gas exploration and production company in India, accounting for more than a quarter of India’s domestic crude oil production. It has a world-class resource base, with a current interest in 62 blocks in India, including the 38 blocks under the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Round I auction, 5 blocks under Round II, and 3 blocks under Round III, 2 awarded under the Discovered Small Fields (DSF) Round-II and 8 under DSF Round-III, and one Coal Bed Methane (CBM) block. In 2004, Cairn made the largest onshore discovery in more than two decades in Mangala, Rajasthan. In its operations of 20 years, Cairn has opened 4 frontier basins with numerous discoveries: 38 in Rajasthan alone.
Cairn is part of Vedanta Resources Limited, the world’s sixth-largest diversified natural resources conglomerate with an interest in oil and gas, zinc-lead-silver, copper, iron ore, aluminum, and commercial power. The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia, and Ireland. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta’s strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and the environment, and on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company has been conferred the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) “Sustainable Plus Platinum” label and ranks among the top 10 most sustainable companies in India.