WOBO needs members and fellow professionals to understand the links of developing technologies and energy needs and the interaction with nature.
Report: Oil and gas majors planning expansion that would jeopardise Paris Agreement
The oil and gas sector is investing in expanding its extraction capacity to levels that would undermine the global Paris Agreement on climate – exceeding even demand forecasts for fossil fuel consumption in a world 2.5C warmer than pre-industrial times.
That is according to Carbon Tracker. The think-tank has today (8 December) published a new analysis of investments made by oil and gas majors across the world since the start of 2021, and their investment plans for 2023 and beyond. Data is taken from corporate reports and from Rystad Energy.
It assessed whether the investments were aligned with the global transition to net-zero by 2050, using the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) model scenario. It also assessed whether investment was aligned with either of the Paris Agreement’s two temperature pathways, 2C and 1.5C.
A headline finding is that, during 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, the sector invested $58bn in oil and gas capacity that will only be needed if global demand grows to the point where it will, ultimately, push the global temperature increase past the 2.5C mark. Projects singled out as the worst offenders in this category include TotalEnergies’ development of the Lake Albert oil field in Uganda to supply the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) and Woodside’s development of two interlinked liquid natural gas (LNG) facilities in Western Australia.
BEIS unveils £25m hydrogen innovation fund, proposes hydrogen-ready boiler mandate
The UK Government has confirmed a total of £102m new innovation funding for the hydrogen and nuclear energy sectors, including £25m for technologies that will generate hydrogen from biomass and waste.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is allocating the funding as part of efforts to deliver the targets detailed in the Energy Security Strategy.
On hydrogen, the Strategy doubled the UK’s target for clean hydrogen production capacity for 2030, to 10GW. At least half of this will need to be green hydrogen, produced by electrolysing water using systems powered with renewable electricity. The Government is also looking at ‘blue’ hydrogen, produced using natural gas and with emissions captured using man-made technologies. In the longer-term, it also sees a potential role for ‘pink’ hydrogen, produced using nuclear electricity, and hydrogen generated using biomass and waste.
The new funding announced this week by BEIS includes £25m for the development of technologies capable of producing hydrogen from bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS).
Report: $250bn of hydropower dependent on water provided by threatened tropical forests
Almost $250bn of existing and planned hydroelectricity projects and assets are dependent on threatened forests, according to a new report urging nations and investors to collaborate to protect key natural ecosystems that are critical to achieving net-zero emissions.
Climate and nature-based asset solutions specialists Earth Security has published a new report examining the “cloud forests” across 25 countries that are crucial to supporting the creation of hydroelectricity.
The Cloud Forest Assets: Financing a Valuable Nature-based Solution found that almost 1000 hydropower dams are currently operating in countries where more than half of water demand comes from “cloud forests”.
Cloud forests are mountain tropical forests, constantly shrouded in clouds, which sit at the headwater of river basins. They are a crucial natural asset in providing fresh, clean water to communities as well as water flows to hydropower plants. More than 90% of cloud forests are found in 25 developing countries.
COP15: Negotiations hang in the balance, with nations clashing on nature finance
UN negotiations to create a global biodiversity treaty, headlined by a commitment to halt nature loss this decade, are reportedly making little progress as they enter their final days.
Representatives from more than 190 national governments first began gathering in Montreal, Canada, since early last week for what is supposed to be the final part of the UN’s 15th Biodiversity COP. The COP has been running on and off since 2020, with host nation China choosing to move proceedings to Montreal earlier this year after having to implement multiple delays due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The summit is widely regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to accelerate global efforts to protect and restore nature. Attendees are seeking to deliver a treaty that will apply from 2020 to 2030 and unify nations in committing to end nature loss and accelerating and scaling restoration. Key targets include setting aside 30% of land for nature, reducing and reforming ecologically harmful subsidies, scaling international nature finance and improving corporate disclosures of nature-related impacts.
Talks were originally slated to wrap up on 17 December but have been extended to 19 December. Even so, observers have noted that the deadline may not be met as negotiators have failed to compromise and reach agreements on several key parts of the treaty. Organisations including charities, campaign groups, citizens’ initiatives and businesses are urging those present to urgently wrap up the treaty at this meeting, given that it is already two years overdue.