California Resources Corp. (CRC), whose operations span four oil and gas basins in the Golden State, last week unveiled an ambitious environmental, social and governance (ESG) goal for the company.

As part of the 3Q2021 earnings call, CEO Mac McFarland said the company had set a “2045 full-scope net zero goal” targeting Scope 1 (direct) and scopes 2 and 3 (indirect) greenhouse gas emissions. The company revealed a decarbonization shift earlier this year. California has taken an aggressive stance toward curbing oil and gas operations.

“This puts us among a handful of industry peers to include Scope 3 emissions in our net zero goals, and puts us on a timeframe five years sooner than most, which aligns us with the state of California’s 2045 net zero ambitions,” McFarland...