Nature as a climate solution

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Nature may not be the root cause of climate change, yet Shell is using natural climate solutions as part of its strategy for reducing its net carbon footprint (NCF). Established in 2018 as part of the New Energies business, Nature-Based Solutions invests in the restoration and protection of natural ecosystems to offset Shell’s carbon emissions and increases the ways in which Shell and our customers can avoid, reduce and mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Laura from GOS spoke with Jessica Hinojosa, a geoscientist supporting Nature-Based Solutions, about her challenges and perspectives working in this field.

 

Laura: why is Nature-Based Solutions important?

Jessica: In short, we can’t meet the goals of the Paris Agreement – both globally and within Shell – without utilizing nature’s ability to absorb CO2, especially in the next few decades before clean energy becomes globally widespread. That’s the crux of our Nature-Based Solutions business: the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems through managed projects, such as planting new trees or protecting existing peatlands. These projects typically last 30 years or more, and you’re getting carbon credits, associated with CO2 uptake, throughout the project’s entire lifetime. Of course, skeptics will say: how can you prove in year 10 that the trees are still there? So we have to have these regular verification events where accredited organizations go out and say, yep, the trees are still there, they’ve grown as much as expected, and then a third party agency issues the carbon credits. So it’s really critical when the auditor comes that you can quantitatively demonstrate how much carbon is there. My team at Shell is trying to develop different technologies and techniques to make that as robust, low-cost, and scalable as possible.

What is the most surprising aspect of the work?

Just the pace of evolution in this field, and by that, I mean the evolution of the business. It seems every week or every month there’s this exciting headline, where a new ‘first-of-a-kind’ project is announced. And then there’s also these big carbon reduction commitments from major companies, both in the oil sector and elsewhere. Since I’ve been in this role, both Apple and Microsoft have made pledges to become carbon neutral – all these big companies are making these pledges and all of them have nature-based solutions part of their toolkit that they are going to use to reach that ambition. It’s really quite crazy to see the scale of growth in NBS markets and the pace of its adoption among big companies. So that’s kind of exciting because I think it will become much more of a household concept within the next decade.

“The longer we wait, the more Nature-Based Solutions becomes critical…”

 

What are the challenges?

I think one of the biggest challenges is just understanding how this will take shape in the future. A lot of the projects, you commit to a 20 or 30 year project – sometimes even longer – and in order to predict whether this is a viable opportunity, you have to forecast both how you think the ecosystem will change over 30 years, and then also another layer of uncertainty is how the carbon price will change. When we generate a carbon credit, we can sell it to our customers or trade those credits on a market, or use the credits towards offsets of Shell’s NCF. Right now, you can buy offsets for a tonne of CO2 from anywhere between roughly a few to a few tens of dollars, depending on the marketplace, and we expect that to go up significantly in the future as countries start regulating CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions – but we don’t really know. So, when you say, “I think this project will break even in terms of the amount that we invest and the amount of credits that we get out”, it’s just really hard to forecast. There are all sorts of uncertainties with the future.

What do you enjoy the most from the role?

One thing that has been very fun compared to both previous life in academia and my previous role within Shell, is this role has a really international scope and it’s looking at a lot of things at once. If I take my PhD for example, I was studying this one area of Southern New Zealand for years, and I got to know that one little area of Southern New Zealand very, very well. Now, this is the total opposite, it’s like every other week there’s a potential project that comes across my desk and it’s in some cool exotic region of the world, and it allows me the opportunity to wander into that country’s politics and learn what they are doing in terms of their commitment to the Paris Agreement. So I feel like I’ve learned a lot already about different countries – it opens up the world to me, which is really cool.

What are the goals for the future?

I think the biggest thing is just growth of the business. We are really keen to launch projects in spaces outside of forestry, so looking at other ecosystem types like grasslands, wetlands, mangroves and coastal ecosystems. I think those are the primary goals – to have a ‘first-of-a-kind’ project in these different ecosystems, learn from those and then scale up pretty quickly. And, I think as Shell’s net carbon footprint ambition has evolved, Nature-Based Solutions has become a bigger and bigger part of it. So as time continues to pass and we are all trying to meet a emission reductions set by the Paris Agreement, the longer we wait, the more Nature-Based Solutions becomes critical, because it’s the only thing we can do in the near term that we know works and is affordable.

For more information, please visit www.shell.com/naturebasedsolutions

 Jessica Hinojosa is a scientist and researcher with Biodomain, supporting the Nature-Based Solutions business. She has a PhD in geochemistry and currently lives in Houston, Texas, where she works for Shell USA.

Spotlight on Albania

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Outpost Tirana, the newest addition to the Outpost Network, offers expatriates and their families a strong support network in Albania and insights into a fascinating and beautiful country. Created in 2019, Outpost Tirana currently counts 28 expat families as part of its community. We arrived in Tirana as a family with two pets in 2018 after a wonderful posting in New Zealand. Albania has been a great experience so far. Let me tell you more about Albania and our life here.

Judith and her family in Përmet

Albania was closed to outsiders for much of the 20th century. It has long been Mediterranean Europe’s enigma and true hidden gem. Until fairly recently its mountains, fortress towns and stunning beaches were merely a dot on most travel maps. However, this has slowly changed. Due to Albania’s proximity to other popular destinations such as Italy, Greece or Montenegro, tourists have gradually filtered into this astonishing country and everyone can really appreciate what it has to offer. The landscape is rich in history, with ancient building and artefacts at every corner.

If I had to pick the most special thing about Albania, the answer would be its people. The people of Albania are what the world needs to see more of: pure hospitality and kindness. They care about their neighbours, friends, family and even strangers. No matter how difficult a situation you are in, someone will be there to help you. This filters into how religion is treated in this country – everyone no matter what faith or race, is welcomed with open arms.

Albania has played a huge role in the past in protecting Europe from invaders by land. Many of its beautiful places still reflect Ottoman and Roman times. These places, Butrint and Apollonia, for example, are hidden gems – easily accessible but far from the queues and crowds of mass tourism. One of the most recommended places to visit is the South coast. It is often referred to as the Albanian Riviera and it extends south of Vlore all the way down until the land border with Greece. White sands, warm blue sea and beautiful restaurants await you in Vlore, Saranda and Ksamil, and various other places.

Ksamil – The Albanian Riviera

The food is very similar to the one encountered in the neighboring countries and the diet is exceptional. No matter where you go, you are guaranteed beautiful fresh vegetables and fruit – even on the side of a road. The local dishes are all worth trying – Byrek, Tave, Baklava, Qofte and Trilece.

You can go from a vibrant busy city with bars and restaurants to beautiful mountains and wilderness within an hour. You get stunning weather for most of the year. This means the nature can thrive at its best. You can hike in the highest mountain, which is over 2,800 meters and trek the famous route of Theth and Valbona. You can have a go at paragliding, canyoning, wild water rafting, horse trekking and many more activities.

However, while there are many positive sides to living in Albania, there are also challenges. There have been, and still are, many protests against the government. Driving around is difficult and at times scary. In 2019, two major earthquakes caused significant damage to some of the disadvantaged areas. The infrastructure is not yet up to par with the rest of Europe and building work is often slow to complete. Since local salaries are low compared to other European countries and wages are often paid daily or weekly, many families struggled during the full lockdown months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, there are charities around to help and many expats are volunteering in different ways.

As the people are so kind, we really hope that more tourists will be curious and come visit Albania so they can experience all the great things this country has to offer.

Judith Visser is an avid hiker, mountain biker and trail runner, and the Focal Point for Outpost Tirana. She studies sport & nutrients, has completed a triathlon, and along with her kids and husband, has adopted a dog and a cat from the streets. Originally from The Netherlands, she has lived in Oman, Malaysia and New Zealand, and now enjoys welcoming new members to the Outpost Tirana community.

25 years of Outpost history!

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Outpost has had a fascinating journey over the past 25 years. Its surprising story began at a time when interest in expatriate assignments had all but waned amongst Shell employees.

By the early 1990s, many geologists and engineers were passing up on offers of expatriate positions, prompting Shell to look further into the reasons for this decline. In 1993, the Shell Outlook Survey was launched and distributed to Shell employees (and their partners) in Exploration and Production to query their opinions on international mobility and expatriation. Following a year of analysis, the survey results indicated that the challenging environment of some locations, combined with the absence of a support network and the lack of career opportunities for the partners of Shell employees, were key factors in employees choosing to remain in their base country. Most of the partners, predominantly women (often referred to as Shell wives), were unable to obtain work visas abroad and were therefore ineligible to work, let alone to pursue career aspirations overseas. The lack of support and the absence of a community, particularly in hardship locations, made it difficult for both employees and their partners to integrate and lead successful expatriate lives.

On October 31st 1995, Outpost was founded as an independent non-profit ‘Stichting’ (foundation) sponsored by Shell and advised by a Board of Directors. As the only sponsor of Outpost, Shell’s major goal in setting up Outpost was to improve not only the mobility of expatriate staff, but also to improve the perception and satisfaction of the expatriate experience. The aim of Outpost was much the same as it is today: to provide non-contractual information about everyday life in Shell locations around the globe. Partners of Shell employees were appointed to the different local office teams across the world to help facilitate an organized information exchange and a support network in situ for the expatriate community. The Hague, Outpost’s first location, was set up as the central hub while all other locations were designated as Information Network Centres (INCs).

Outpost’s status as a non-profit foundation run by expatriate partners and independent from Shell meant that the network developed according to the needs and wishes of the families and partners, and not merely according to Shell policy. It wasn’t until 2003 that Outpost was formally and legally incorporated into Shell – specifically into the Global Expatriate Department in Human Resources. Before then, local Outposts (i.e. INCs) were run mostly independently with self-designated names and personalized branding. For example, Outpost Miri Sarawak was called ‘The Hornbill House’ and Outpost Houston had a cowboy boot as a logo.  With the establishment of Global Outpost Services (GOS) in 2004, The Hague changed its status from central hub to regular Outpost with GOS becoming the central office to support the different local Outposts.

Since then, Outpost has evolved alongside and according to Shell’s international mobility policies. Although the number of Outpost locations have fluctuated over the years, reflecting both external trends and internal changes within Shell, Outpost continues to have a strong supportive network for expatriates and their families around the world. As Outpost commemorates its 25 years of operations, some members celebrate a quarter of a century in expatriate friendships! From its early foundation, Outpost has enabled members to connect with other expatriates and expand their network of friends throughout the globe, building long-lasting relationships that endure across time and borders.

Happy anniversary to our Network and members! Find out more about Outpost’s 25 years on our anniversary webpage!