Share

Clean-up of oil, gas industry needed - UN

Oslo - The UN's climate chief called on the oil and gas industry on Thursday to make a drastic shift to a clean, low-carbon future or risk having to leave three-quarters of fossil fuel reserves in the ground.

"The time for experimentation, for marginal changes and for conditional response is now over," Christiana Figueres told the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (Ipieca) in a speech in London.

She urged an "urgent transformation" to greener production after top scientists warned on Monday that climate change would damage food supplies, slow economic growth and aggravate the underlying causes of armed conflicts.

Limiting global warming to an agreed UN ceiling "means that three quarters of the fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground, and the fossil fuels we do use must be utilised sparingly and responsibly," she said.

Oil and gas firms say they are addressing global warming, for instance by focusing on energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies.

In a report on climate change risks on March 31, Exxon Mobil said that all energy sources, including fossil fuels, had to be exploited to meet growing world demand.

"All of Exxon Mobil's current hydrocarbon reserves will be needed, along with substantial industry investments, to address global energy needs," William Colton, vice president of corporate strategic planning, said in a statement.

Figueres has become more outspoken in criticising the fossil fuel industry in recent months as part of efforts to promote renewable sources such as solar or wind power. In November, she called on the coal industry to clean up.

Carbon capture

She said oil and gas firms should start by reporting risks to their business after governments agreed in 2010 to limit warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.

Temperatures are heading to breach the ceiling.

Figueres, the head of the UN's Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, noted the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the world has already burnt more than half a budget of a billion tonnes of carbon if it wants to stay below 2C.

Companies should also take measures such as cutting methane leaks, lobby for an effective price on carbon emissions and invest in carbon capture and storage (CCS), she said.

CCS, which includes technologies to strip carbon dioxide from the flue gases of power plants, would allow continued output by eliminating most carbon emissions.

So far, however, there are few projects.

Saskatchewan Power in Canada will start its $1.35 billion Boundary Dam coal-fired CCS project this year, capturing a million tonnes annually of carbon dioxide in what it says is the world's first post-combustion coal-fired CCS project.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.94
-0.0%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.0%
Rand - Euro
20.42
+0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.0%
Platinum
908.05
+1.2%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders