It says here on Reuters Sustainable Switch that “All eyes are on the energy sector after the European Union called on fossil fuel companies to pay for fighting climate change in low-income countries, while big oil executives take part in one of the world’s largest energy conferences in Houston, United States this week.
The fossil fuel industry should help pay for fighting climate change help pay for fighting climate change in poorer countries under a United Nations target, EU countries’ foreign affairs ministers said.”
But the next news item in the feed tells us that down in Houston this week, fossil fuel executives are orating about the “fantasy of phasing out oil and gas.”
Speaking of the fossil fuel sector, top oil executives and ministers descend on Houston this week for one of the world’s biggest energy conferences emboldened by blockbuster mergers, stable oil prices and less pressure for a large-scale move to clean fuels.
The annual CERAWeek conference comes as demand for oil and gas continues to rise alongside solar, wind and biofuels. ….In fact, the head of the world’s largest energy company urged a re-set of global energy transition plans in remarks to oil and gas executives at the conference.
“We should abandon the fantasy of phasing out oil and gas, and instead invest in them adequately, reflecting realistic demand assumptions, as long as essential,” Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said, in remarks that drew applause from the audience.
We also read that the Tipping point for low-carbon buildings demand in sight, report says and that Right-wing groups sue US over offshore wind impact on whales
OK, let’s parse this mess. The European Union wants the fossil fuel industry to pay more for “fighting” the climate change caused by the fossil fuel industry.
“Fighting” is not defined, but we could assume that it means correcting, undoing, reversing, with the understanding that this means (1) greatly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the fossil fuel industry with the agreed-upon goal of 350 ppm in mind, and a timetable for achieving that goal; (2) paying for repairing the damages to ecosystems, forests, rivers, agricultural lands, et al caused by the fossil fuel industry, also on a time table; and (3) paying for prophylactic works to prevent further droughts, floods, fires, ecological destruction, species extinction, pandemics, and mass human migrations away from destroyed geographies.
Simultaneously, the fossil fuel industry leaders are meeting in Houston to assert that we should all stfu about phasing out oil and gas because MORE OIL AND GAS NOW AND FOREVER.
Alright, this is a clear conflict. Let’s keep that in mind. So when we next read that we’re reaching the tipping point for low-carbon buildings, what should we think?
I think we should think “Show us the arithmetic in which low-carbon building demand reduces greenhouse gas emissions against the arithmetic of the projected increase in greenhouse gas emissions from more fossil fuel production.”
And when we read that some rightwing groups are suing the USA over the impacts of offshore wind projects on whales, what should we smell? Is it rightwing concern for whales? Or a cynical “Who is funding this, might it be the fossil fuel industry?”
We could do a little research to get the answers
( Peabody Energy funded CFACT before its bankruptcy as did Robert E. Murray’s Murray Energy before its bankruptcy. CFACT is a member organization of the Cooler Heads Coalition, which rejects climate science, is known to promote falsehoods about climate change and has been characterized as a leader in efforts to stop the government from addressing climate change. CFACT chapters have protested in defense of oil exploration and in opposition to the Kyoto Protocol. CFACT supports drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as well as hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in natural gas and oil-rich regions of the country.)
But wait, there’s more.
It says on Axios Generate that in that same Houston gathering, “gas industry officials are citing power-thirsty artificial intelligence growth and data center needs more broadly as they project strong future demand…Generative AI is joining with other advanced computing, electric vehicles, crypto-mining, new manufacturing and more to start sending U.S. power demand sharply upward after many years of largely flat consumption.
State of play: “AI and data centers are going to require a lot more energy, and that means a lot more energy produced,” Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute, told Axios recently.
“They’re going to need energy that can run 24 hours. And what that means is we’re going to need a lot more natural gas.”
And Mike Sabel, CEO of LNG heavyweight Venture Global, told reporters Sunday that global power needs for AI are among the reasons why they see a robust long-term market.
Friction point: Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm noted yesterday that some tech companies are ensuring “clean” power fuels data centers, but added more is needed.
“I think for utilities and for data centers … there’s a different conversation that needs to be had about, if you want to build a data center, can you bring your own clean power with you, what does that look like,” she told CERAWeek.
What’s next: Look for AI growth to increasingly factor into energy market analyses — and policy battles.
So back to parsing: the reporting tells us that if we want AI and cryptocurrency we need fossil fuels so get over it with your floods fires migrations droughts…and meanwhile
365 days of record heat and climbing
Global ocean surface temperatures have been at record highs for just over a full year, worrying scientists who don’t have a complete understanding of what is driving this trend, Andrew writes.
Driving the news: March 14 marked a full year in which global ocean surface temperatures were the warmest on record.
Zoom in: Conditions at sea have affected the weather on land, worsening flooding rains in Los Angeles, San Francisco, the East Coast of the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Unusually mild ocean and air temperatures were, to some extent, expected in 2023 due to the development of a strong El Niño event in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
Yes, but: The spike in global temperatures seen during 2023, which has continued into 2024, has been unexpected in its magnitude, persistence and geographic extent.
El Niño simply cannot explain all of it, scientists told Axios.
The intrigue: Brian McNoldy, a senior researcher at the University of Miami in Florida, told Axios in an email, that he was “a shocked observer like so many others.”
“It’s not just that the global average sea surface temperature has been record-breaking every single day… but it’s the absurdly large margins by which the records have been broken,” he said.
Shocked, I tell you. Shocked. Round up the usual suspects. They’re in Houston, right now.
Carbon energy climate change deniers are indeed masking themselves as whale friendly environmentalists in convincing local citizens and governments to turn against offshore wind generation. The same for stealthy methane gas, oil, and coal backed groups convincing NIMBY towns across the country to pass anti-solar farm, anti-wind farm zoning and setbacks.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2024-1-spring/feature/climate-science-deniers-fossil-fuel-shills-plot-against-green-energy?utm_source=sierra&utm_medium=print&tum_campaign=sierramagdigital
Meanwhile Sempra Energy owned San Diego Gas and Electric is asking the California Public Utilities Commission for rate increases the same month they announced record profits, passing the mark of last year’s record setting profits.
Clear and well written as usual. Thank you for these articles.