Reducing the dependence of the global economy on oil is a colossal task
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Reducing the dependence of the global economy on oil is a colossal
task
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"In 2021, several developments showed clearly that (the petroleum) industry doesn't have a future," said Romain Ioualalen at the activist group Oil Change International.
The call was a revolution for an agency created in the wake of the first 1970 oil shock to protect the energy security of rich, oil-consuming nations.
"It is no longer taboo to talk about the end of the extraction of hydrocarbons during international climate summits," said Oil Change International's Ioualalen.
More recently, environmental defenders scored a symbolic victory when oil giant Shell decided to exit the development of the controversial Cambo oil field off Scotland saying the investment case was "not strong enough".
"We've known for several years that the end of crude oil ... is near," said Moez Ajmi, an energy specialist at professional services firm EY.
The IEA also believes that oil demand is still set to rise. It expects it to reach its pre-pandemic level of just under 100 million barrels per day next year.
"Any talk of the oil and gas industries being consigned to the past and halting new investments in oil and gas is misguided," OPEC leader Mohammed Barkindo said recently.
He believes the issue is being approached from the wrong end. Instead of focussing on reducing oil, attention should be shifted towards consumption.
In the first half of the year, electric vehicles accounted for 7 percent of global auto sales, according to BloombergNEF. While that is still a small percentage, it is growing fast.
Oil Change International's Ioualalen said that arguments put forward by oil companies and producing nations are cynical and focus on the short term.
"We're still far from a decarbonised economy, of course, but it is the energy system investments that are made today that will lead us there," said Ioualalen.
US oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron were long holdouts but finally announced this year investments into the energy transition.
"It's clear that sitting on the decarbonisation sidelines isn't an option" given the increasing pressure on the oil industry.
Links
- (UK The Conversation) Climate Change: Ditch 90% Of World’s Coal And 60% Of Oil And Gas To Limit Warming To 1.5°C – Experts
- (Inverse) How To Save A Planet: To Avoid Catastrophe, This Shocking Amount Of Fossil Fuels Must Stay In The Ground
- (AU ABC) Most Fossil Fuels 'Must Stay Unburned' For One-In-Two Chance Of Meeting 1.5c Warming Limit
- (Reuters) Analysis: Benchmark Of Big Oil On Methane Emissions Shows ‘Significant Gap’ Between Reality And Reporting
- (Bloomberg) ‘Petrolhead’ Who Beat Shell Shows How Law Can Fight Climate Change
- (AU The Conversation) Four seismic climate wins show Big Oil, Gas and Coal are running out of places to hide
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