Despite professing their firm commitment to fighting climate change and expanding into renewable energy, following record profits from war-spiked high energy prices, global oil and gas majors like BP, Shell and ExxonMobil are now walking back their rhetoric and reducing whatever modest plans they had to invest in clean energy. And investors have cheered these decisions. Though renewable energy generation is expanding faster than ever, Michael Buchsbaum reviews how this is an object lesson in why relying on market forces alone to push companies into doing the right thing has never been more foolish.
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Guyana: booming offshore oil production transforms it into the world’s newest petro state
Eight years after a consortium led by ExxonMobil announced the discovery of vast oil and gas deposits off the coast of Guyana in May 2015, this small South American country of 800,000 people is now poised to become the world’s fourth-largest offshore oil producer as well as a major fossil gas supplier. The billions of oil dollars pouring into this largely impoverished nation have transformed it into the world’s fastest growing economy. Experts worry that Guyana lacks the expertise and legal and regulatory framework to control the political and economic power of the international oil industry — let alone protect its own environment and rich biodiversity. With Exxon now predicting that Guyana will become a bigger producer than Texas, Michael Buchsbaum sheds a light on this nation’s oil boom and other media outlets sounding an alarm.
Green hydrogen advocates in denial about looming material problem
Renewable energy, electric vehicles and green hydrogen all offer ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Recent years have seen rising interest in how these technologies impact the demand and mining of critical materials. Lithium mining for electric batteries, in particular, has been scrutinised by environmental groups. Yet less discussed is green hydrogen which requires scarce materials, writes Rebecca Bertram.
Europe’s energy crisis has a silver lining: more renewables than ever
Defying the grimmest projections, Europe made it through the temperate winter of 2023 with remarkably little collateral damage – and even a few big wins. The energy crisis may have displaced Europe’s climate aspirations by a fraction, but thanks to a record rollout of renewables and conservation measures, the continent’s emissions footprint inched downward and positioned Europe to remain within reach of its goal to slash emissions by 55 percent in seven years’ time. And it’s on track to comfortably outpace its pledge to generate 45% of its total energy from clean sources by 2030.
Russian assault on Ukraine’s nuclear power stations: “An hour away from nuclear meltdown”
At the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Berlin, several international experts including two from Ukraine, underscored the precarious events unfolding at Ukraine’s nuclear power stations, among them the Zaporizhzhia complex, the largest nuclear power facility in Europe.
As lithium rush gathers pace, it’s time Zimbabwe leverages its ample reserves
Zimbabwe is reported to have Africa’s largest and the world’s fifth-largest lithium reserves. Lithium, a key component in energy storing batteries, is witnessing soaring demand as electric vehicles gain popularity. However, despite its abundance of the key resource, the country is lagging in terms of technology to process and fully utilise its lithium. In this story, Kennedy Nyavaya takes a closer look into how lithium can facilitate Zimbabwe’s clean mobility transition while also creating green job opportunities.
Smokescreen for climate inaction: CCS starts to take off in Saudi Arabia and Europe
Given that oil and gas producers dominate the sector, many environmental groups and civil society organizations suspect that investments in Carbon, Capture and Storage (CCS) are being used to divert attention and resources away from a quicker build-out of renewable energy systems and other proven methods of addressing climate change. At the end of 2022, as several of the world’s largest petrochemical firms announced ambitious CCS investment plans, the European Union finally released a draft of their proposed CCS framework. As lead blogger and podcaster Michael Buchsbaum discusses, hundreds of environmental, climate and civil society groups, including the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, immediately deemed it a “smokescreen for inaction.”
The Energy Charter Treaty remains a challenge for the EU’s Climate Agenda
Global record investments in the energy sector continue to make headlines. After a halt in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sector investments increased in 2021 followed by projections of a similar trajectory by mid-2022. The momentum is associated with the renewables sector which accounts for the majority of these investments. Countries that have committed to achieve net-zero emissions and meet Paris targets will have to maintain this trend – or, potentially, a higher one – if they intend to fulfill those commitments. But net-zero also implies a gradual phase-out of traditional fossil fuel technologies and assets. This is where the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) could hamper the transition towards climate neutrality essential ways. Legal and energy specialist Lekë Batalli has the details.
Biden’s climate push ensures US stays #1 in giant carbon sucking machines
The U.S.’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been hailed as both a jobs-creating infrastructure stimulus and a clean energy booster. To ensure bi-partisan support in the otherwise polarized United States, it also provides generous tax credits for investments in carbon capture and sequestration or carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. Beyond the $12 billion in other government support for CCS, bonus funds are now available to prove out experimental “Direct Air Capture” (DAC) technology. Recently Airbus bought 400,000 tons of carbon removal credits from a planned DAC facility in Texas’ oil-soaked Permian Basin. When operational in 2024, owner Occidental Petroleum promises it will be capable of sucking one million tons of CO2 out of the sky every year. And as lead blogger and podcaster Michael Buchsbaum reviews, Oxy will then use that CO2 to produce millions of barrels of climate friendlier “net-zero oil.” Confused? Welcome to America’s suck rush.
Can South Africa’s just transition close the energy sectors gender gap?
South Africa’s energy transition passed significant milestones at the last two COPs (Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC). Over the last two years, a framework for a just transition was developed and adopted by government, considering the inclusion of groups left behind by the energy industry. Women in particular face numerous challenges in the energy sector: while they fail to profit from energy production, they are also deeply afflicted by the existential issues linked to coal-based energy production. Tunicia Phillips and Leona Schmitt take a closer look at South Africa’s just transition plans and how they seek to include women in the process. Read More