Countries Need to Invest $55 Trillion to Reach Emissions Target

By Rajesh Kumar Singh 16 September 2020, 15:39 BST: Updated on 17 September 2020, 07:17 BST

Global economies will need to invest as much as $55 trillion through the middle of the century to meet an emissions goal and contain warming of the planet, according to a report by a group of executives from energy-intensive companies including ArcelorMittal SA, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Reaching net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 will require large-scale electrification of industries, buildings and transport, as well as the use of hydrogen and biofuels in areas that can’t be electrified, according to the Energy Transitions Commission. Using less energy to produce more and recycling material will aid the efforts. Building renewable power plants will take up a bulk of the estimated investment. read more

Delaware joins list of states and localities suing Big Oil

Defendants in the lawsuit include Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and the American Petroleum Institute.

By Randall Chase | AP: September 10, 2020

DOVER, Del. — Delaware has joined the list of state and local governments that have sued the petroleum industry in an attempt to hold oil producers accountable for costs related to climate change.

The attorney general’s office joined forces with a California law firm that has sued the industry on behalf of other state and local governments in filing a Superior Court complaint Thursday. read more

Extinction Rebellion activists arrested after Shell’s London HQ vandalised

Several Extinction Rebellion activists have been arrested after the Shell Centre in central London was vandalised.

Green graffiti reading “stop ecocide” was sprayed on the outside of the building. One arrestee was seen with green hands.

Earlier, around 100 protesters had gathered in Jubilee Gardens opposite Shell’s London headquarters to demonstrate against the oil and gas company.

Some demonstrators also dropped a banner from Westminster Bridge which read “Shell = Death”. read more

Why The Oil Industry’s $400 Billion Bet On Plastics Could Backfire

Scott Carpenter: Senior Contributor: Energy Sept 5, 2020Key takeaways:

• Oil companies plan to invest $400 billion into new petrochemical plants, betting that demand for plastic will keep growing.
• Authors of a new report say the industry and other forecasters fail to consider that large majorities favor legislation to curb plastic use and waste and that governments are acting.
• Plastics impose a cost of $1000 per tonne — through CO2 emissions, air pollution, and collection costs. Calls to shift those costs onto producers through taxes are growing.
• Outside experts said the long-term outlook for plastics demand remains uncertain and will depend on consumer preferences and government actions.

The COVID-19 pandemic and accelerating green growth around the world have eviscerated many of the oil industry’s dogmas: that renewables would suffer from high costs, that governments would slow-walk environmental commitments, that investors would continue to reward long-term bets on oil with generous market values.

But one nugget of wisdom has survived everything the market has thrown at it, and now oil companies like ExxonMobil and Shell are wagering billions on it: that the world’s demand for plastics is still growing, with no end in sight. read more

The Guardian: ‘War on plastic’ could strand oil industry’s £300bn investment

Major oil firms plan to grow plastic supply to counter impact of shift against fossil fuels

Jillian Ambrose: Fri 4 Sep 2020 06.00 BST

The war on plastic waste could scupper the oil industry’s multi-billion dollar bet that the world will continue to need more fossil fuels to help make the petrochemicals used in plastics, according to a new report.

Major oil companies, including Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell, plan to spend about $400bn (£300bn) to help grow the supply of virgin plastics by a quarter over the next five years, to compensate for the impact of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies on demand for fossil fuels. read more

Big Oil just isn’t as big as it once was

ExxonMobil’s expulsion from the Dow Jones industrial average is just the latest sign that major oil companies aren’t as important to the economy as they used to be

A dozen years ago, ExxonMobil was the bluest of blue-chip companies. Raking in record-breaking profit, it spent every quarter of 2008 as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

Not anymore. The oil giant’s market value today is a third of what it was in 2008, when it was worth over $500 billion. That slide culminated last month with Exxon ending its 92-year run on the Dow Jones industrial average. read more

An update on climate change litigation – no signs of cooling

Katharina Theil considers progress on legal moves around the world to bring companies to account for their contribution to climate change.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly changed many aspects of our daily lives. However, one issue that remains firmly on the agenda is the urgent need for action to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change.

As the UK emerges from lockdown, the UK Committee on Climate Change has urged the Government to tackle the climate emergency in its attempt to revive the economy and has called for ‘a green, resilient COVID-19 recovery’. read more

Two Climate Protesters Arrested in London as Demonstrations Resume

By Reuters: Aug. 28, 2020, 7:54 a.m. ET

LONDON — Police arrested two climate activists on Friday as the resumption of Extinction Rebellion’s protests following a coronavirus-forced hiatus saw the pair target oil firm Shell’s main London office.

They had painted the word “lies” in large green letters on the glass front doors of the building as other protesters held up a banner.

“Officers attended and two women aged 33 and 47 were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. Both remain in custody,” a police spokesman said. read more

Extinction Rebellion protest outside London HQ of oil giant Shell

last updated: 28/08/2020

At least one protester was arrested after demonstrators representing climate advocacy group, Extinction Rebellion, gathered outside Shell Centre, the London headquarters of the major oil firm, and spray-painted the word “LIES” on the building entrance.

The activist group had planned the demonstration for early Friday but minutes into the protest the graffiti painter, a young woman wearing a white painter’s uniform with the XR logo on the back, was arrested by police. read more

North Sea – WEBWIRE – Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Today Greenpeace activists from Germany have launched a protest in the North Sea to call out Shell’s plans to abandon an estimated 11,000 tonnes of oil in the sea.[1] The Greenpeace ship Esperanza approached the 500m exclusion zone of Shell’s platforms in the Brent oil field, off the Shetland Islands, with protestors on board waving banners calling on Shell to clean up its mess. Today’s protest also highlights how Shell is failing to take responsibility for its harmful impact on the environment. read more

Big Oil Asset Write-Downs Are Not The End Of The Oil Age

Tilak Doshi: Contributor Energy: Aug 23, 2020

Climate change activists have long lobbied for divestment from fossil fuel-producing companies. They have largely failed in this quest. This year, the steep falls in the value of the large oil and gas companies, however, occurred with a rapidity that astonished market watchers. Within weeks, the coronavirus pandemic and the oil market-share battle between Saudi Arabia and Russia launched after the collapse of the OPEC+ talks in early March led to unprecedented falls in Big Oil equity. read more

In a surprising turn of events, Shell’s board of executives has officially endorsed a SumOfUs-backed resolution committing the company to take action against climate change.

Still, Shell is lobbying UN representatives to block any kind of real climate solutions in the run-up to the UN climate talks in Paris this year.

We can’t let Shell’s stated commitment to fight climate change be mere greenwashing. If Shell’s executives are really serious about tackling climate change, then they have to stop meddling with the climate talks. And with Shell responding to our pressure for the first time, we’re in a real position to force them to act. read more

Shell Explores Sale of a Norwegian Natural Gas Business

Its shares are down 48% this year, giving the company a market value of around $115 billion.

(Bloomberg) — Royal Dutch Shell Plc said it’s considering a sale of a Norwegian natural gas supplier, as the energy major continues to selectively dispose of assets.

The company is exploring a disposal of its Gasnor unit, a spokesperson confirmed in response to Bloomberg queries. Shell has approached infrastructure funds and private equity firms about a deal, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified as discussions are private. read more

By Alex Kimani – Aug 17, 2020, 7:00 PM CDT

Booms and bust cycles are very much a part of investing in the fossil fuel sector. In previous energy downturns, prices frequently experienced serious slumps, but oil and gas companies mostly kept faith in their biggest asset: Oil and gas reserves buried deep in the ground. But things are markedly different this time around.

Faced with pandemic-driven demand destruction and a relentless call for climate-conscious and ethical investing, oil executives are resigning themselves to the uncomfortable fact that a significant amount of their vast oil and gas reserves will end up totally worthless. read more

With oil prices expected to stay low, big producers are grappling with lower profits and the prospect of a quicker transition to renewable energy

Ben Chapman @b_c_chapman: 18 August 2020

Seven of the world’s largest oil firms have wiped almost $90bn (£69bn) off the value of their fossil fuel reserves as the coronavirus pandemic sent demand plunging.

Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Total, Chevron, Repsol, Eni and Equinor have written down their oil and gas assets by $87bn over the past nine months, with $55bn coming in the latest financial quarter, analysis by climate think tank Carbon Tracker found. read more

Europe’s Big Oil Companies Are Turning Electric

Under pressure from governments and investors, industry leaders like BP and Shell are accelerating their production of cleaner energy.

By Stanley Reed: Aug. 17, 2020, 3:00 a.m. ET

This may turn out to be the year that oil giants, especially in Europe, started looking more like electric companies.

Late last month, Royal Dutch Shell won a deal to build a vast wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands. Earlier in the year, France’s Total, which owns a battery maker, agreed to make several large investments in solar power in Spain and a wind farm off Scotland. Total also bought an electric and natural gas utility in Spain and is joining Shell and BP in expanding its electric vehicle charging business. read more