Eight of the
world’s top oil and gas producers have offered an intriguing glimpse
into a future of rusting oil rigs and gleaming solar panels.
A vision of old and new energy
sources, on what looks like a dried out seabed, dominate the front page
of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI) website, a project launched
by BG Group, BP, Eni, Pemex, Saudi Aramco, Shell, Sinopec and Total.
They joined forces last week at
the Paris business and climate summit to emphasize their qualified
support for carbon cuts, and plan to reveal how they can contribute to
global efforts to address climate change in a report due out later this
year.
The oil giants – responsible for
25 million barrels of oil equivalent a day – a sixth of global
hydrocarbon production – say they want to “drive the sector forward” on
climate solutions.
Options discussed at a gathering
of the OGCI last week include cuts to gas flaring and methane emissions
from production facilities, together with work on measuring
climate-related impacts.
“Outcomes from the workshop will
help inform the OGCI’s first joint report that will be published ahead
of the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC
(COP21),” the group said in a statement.
It offers another signal that
after decades of blocking efforts to tackle climate change, some of the
world’s top fossil fuel producers are now acknowledge rising levels of
greenhouse gas emissions could be an issue.
Last week Saudi Arabia’s oil
minister said the country could be finished with fossil fuels by 2040 or
2050, and offered the thought it could turn to exporting solar power.
BP and Shell recently adopted
shareholder resolutions to force them to reveal if their assets will be
unburnable under tighter climate regulations.
Chevron and Exxon Mobil, which
are not part of the OGCI, have rejected calls to pull out of
carbon-intensive projects. And apart from Total, which has gas solar
projects in the US, South Africa, Chile and Abu Dhabi, other OGCI
members have insignificant renewable investments.
The “long term solutions” part
of the website talks about digital solutions or regulatory behavior. It
doesn’t mention the UN climate science panel’s warning that at the rate
of current emissions, in less than 30 years dangerous warming will be
locked into the world’s climate.
Many seasoned observers of
climate change talks have called the commitment of oil companies to
decarbonise into question, pointing to Shell’s plans to drill in the
Arctic this summer.
Environmentalist Jonathan
Porritt, who once advised BP on its environmental strategies, said it
was “impossible” for them to adapt to a world that needs to rapidly
slash emissions.
The UK’s former top climate
diplomat John Ashton has described Shell’s strategy of warning about
climate dangers yet continuing to explore as “narcissistic, paranoid and
psychopathic”.
But with the Paris summit fast
approaching, there appear to be efforts at senior UN levels to offer the
oil giants a way to bring solutions to the French capital.
UN climate chief Christiana
Figueres and UN assistant secretary-general on climate change Janos
Pasztor also addressed last week’s OGCI meeting, according to the
statement.
Speaking to RTCC in Barcelona
this week, Figueres said it was time to stop “demonizing” hydrocarbon
producers, arguing their technical expertise was vital in curbing
emissions.
“We need everyone – climate change is so important so we cannot afford to demonize any country or company,” she said.
By Ed King from here
© RTCCEver the cynic, one comment - don't hold your breath!
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