Fossil Fuels

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is looking to support the deployment of advanced carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) technologies within the UK, as announced in the Ten point plan for a green industrial revolution. How the competition will work. Up to £19.5 million grant funding will be available over 2 calls to: support innovation in novel CCUS technology increasing its technology and commercial readiness level (TRL & CRL); demonstrate and de-risk next generation CCUS technologies to allow it to deploy commercially from 2025; reduce the cost of deploying CCUS and create competitive pressure on current available technology.

BEIS 30th July 2021 read more »

Ninety miles from Middlesbrough, a mass of sandstone under the North Sea that was once drilled for oil in vain will become a critical weapon in Britain’s struggle to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The 25km by 15km aquifer is at the heart of a £ 12bn project to create a giant carbon store that could inject 20 million tonnes of greenhouse gases a year by the end of the decade, shutting it off from the atmosphere . Major industrial companies and investors have stood to gain support for similar UK projects since Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared carbon capture, use and storage technology last year “Needed worldwide” to reduce emissions from some of the most difficult sectors to reduce carbon. Johnson’s support follows previous broken-down efforts to get the technology off the ground in Britain. Businesses have been researching carbon capture ever since mid 2000s but the government has withdrawn funding amid cost concerns, most recently in 2015. Bystanders say CCUS is an expensive diversion that supports the continued use of fossil fuels and still results in harmful emissions. Projects elsewhere came to a standstill technology and financing problems as the cost of renewable energy continues to decline.

FT 31st July 2021 read more »

Fossil fuel electricity generation has peaked worldwide as emerging market countries seize the opportunities of low-cost renewables. Emerging markets are key to the global energy transition, with 88% of the growth in electricity demand between 2019 and 2040 expected to come from emerging market countries. If they do not leapfrog to renewables, the report warns there will be no global energy transition. Renewables are already the cheapest source of new electricity in 90% of the world which means emerging markets have no need to build up huge electricity infrastructure based on fossil fuels.

Carbon Tracker 14th July 2021 read more »

Climate change: World leaders at Glasgow’s Cop26 summit must not listen to the poison dripped into their ears by Big Oil – Dr Richard Dixon. It’s vitally important to keep up pressure on the countries at the Cop and the process itself. That means exposing the bullying tactics that the US tried to use in 2000 to try to stop countries voting for stronger action, the delaying tactics from a whole range of countries, arguing over a single word or phrase for hours to stop agreement, the fossil fuel lobbyists who are allowed in to drip their poison in delegates’ ears, the failed promises on climate finance, and the whole range of technical fixes and market mechanisms that would let rich countries off the hook while placing burdens on people in poorer countries.

Scotsman 29th July 2021 read more »

Origin Energy has slashed the value of its assets, including Australia’s biggest coal-fired power plant, by more than $1.5bn as cheap power from renewables floods the national grid. Company shares tumbled as much as 10% on Friday morning after Origin announced the writedown and lower expected earnings next year to the Australian Securities Exchange, before recovering slightly to be down about 7.85% about 12.45pm.

Guardian 30th July 2021 read more »

Polluting energy sources received more than $3 trillion from the EU and 19 of the world’s largest national economies over that four-year period, despite G20 members having pledged to phase-out fossil fuel subsidy and address climate change back in 2009. A new climate factbook released by BloombergNEF has criticized the policy actions of G20 members, and highlighted the significance of poorly directed fossil-fuel funding.The Climate Policy Factbook published this month has monitored the progress made towards a low-carbon economy by G20 members, which include the EU alongside 19 of the world’s biggest national economies. The headline figure is that governments provided a reported $3.3 trillion of direct support for coal, oil and gas plus related fossil-fueled power for the period between 2015 and 2019. Considering 2021 prices, Bloomberg puts that sum as being able to fund 4,232 GW of new solar power plants.

PV Magazine 28th July 2021 read more »

COP26: Scottish Labour demand green jobs action as SNP accuse Alister Jack of not visiting renewable energy companies. Scottish Labour have demanded immediate investment in green jobs ahead of COP26. Speaking with the Glasgow conference 100 days away, Monica Lennon MSP demanded “urgent action” and the immediate deployment of the £100m Green Jobs Fund. The calls come as the SNP criticised the UK Scottish Secretary for not visiting a single Scottish renewable energy company in the first quarter of 2021. “A Scottish Energy Development Agency should be established urgently, to ensure future funds and support are distributed quickly and to the right places. “Only radical and immediate action will do to meet the challenge of the climate crisis and to ensure that the people of Scotland benefit from a planned transition to a greener economy.”

Scotsman 24th July 2021 read more »

THE SCOTTISH Government has been urged to ensure the country isn’t “left behind” by a revolution in renewable energy ahead of the COP26 climate conference. Labour has issued the warning after figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that direct employment from green jobs in Scotland is at its lowest level since 2014, according to the latest available statistics.

Herald 23rd July 2021 read more »

The government faces the threat of legal action over plans to allow exploration at the Cambo oilfield near Shetland after promising to put an end to new oil exploration licences that do not align with the UK’s climate goals. Greenpeace has threatened to take the government to court over the decision, which has triggered an outcry from climate experts and green campaigners in Scotland and across the UK in recent weeks. In a letter to the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, the green group urged the minister not to rubber-stamp a permit for the Cambo oilfield, which could produce 170m barrels of oil and produce emissions equivalent to 16 coal-fired power plants running for a year. The approval would risk undermining the UK government’s recent decision to bar new oil exploration licences unless the oil driller can pass a “climate checkpoint” test that proves the fossil fuel is needed and can be produced with as small a carbon footprint as possible.

Guardian 23rd July 2021 read more »

Independent 23rd July 2021 read more »

The Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior ship will be back in Aberdeen on Saturday to host a panel discussion on the need for a “just transition” for oil workers. Aberdeen North SNP MP Kirsty Blackman, RMT union boss Jake Molloy, Narayan Shrestha from Aberdeen Multicultural Centre and Steve Gray from Green Unison Scotland will be taking part. There will also be representatives from Aberdeen Climate Action and the Friends of St Fittick’s Park community group.

Energy Voice 22nd July 2021 read more »

Young climate change campaigners have held a protest on Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm as they call for a fair energy transition deal for offshore workers. Holly Gillibrand from Fort William staged a protest at Beatrice offshore wind farm in the North Sea on Wednesday alongside fellow campaigners Lily Henderson and Dylan Hamilton appealing for greater consideration of the “welfare and needs” of offshore workers. The trio hoisted up a 1,500 sq ft banner aboard Greenpeace’s ship, the Rainbow Warrior, marking the latest stop on Greenpeace’s Just Transition Tour.

Press & Journal 22nd July 2021 read more »

YOUTH climate strikers have staged a protest in the North Sea today [WEDS 21] at Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farm, calling for a just transition for oil workers. At Beatrice wind farm three 16-year-old Scottish climate activists Holly Gillibrand, Lily Henderson and Dylan Hamilton hoisted up a 1,500 sq ft banner calling for a ‘Just transition for oil workers’. Greenpeace UK is calling on the Scottish government to take action to deliver a just transition for oil and gas workers, or risk abandoning a whole workforce, as was seen with coal miners and shipbuilders in years gone by. Holly, who has been striking with Fridays For Future Scotland for three years, said: “The climate and ecological emergency is at its heart a social justice issue, so the solutions need to centre around the welfare and needs of people. It is so important that as young climate activists we listen to oil workers and have these conversations involving people from many different backgrounds and experiences. “Unless we move away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy, we don’t have a hope of stopping this crisis. The people in power need to start treating this like a crisis instead of tinkering around the edges without disrupting business as usual, which is ultimately what we need.” Campaigners are urging Scottish Government ministers to engage directly with workers, remove hurdles to retraining, and back up warm words with a proper specialist fund for energy workers.

Greenpeace 21st July 2021 read more »

The John O’Groat Journal was given special access to a protest by Greenpeace activists today [Wednesday, July 21] as they set out from Wick harbour to the Beatrice offshore wind farm. Greenpeace UK is calling on the Scottish government to take action to deliver a just transition for oil and gas workers, or risk abandoning a whole workforce, as was seen with coal miners and shipbuilders in years gone by.

John O’Groat Journal 21st July 2021 read more »

World Benchmarking Alliance warns that the global oil and gas industry is on track to smash through the carbon budgets that would prevent global average temperature increases spiralling above 1.5C. The world’s chances of limiting global warming to 1.5C in line with the Paris Agreement currently look set to be thwarted by oil and gas companies, with the industry on course to blast through its allotted carbon budget as early as 2037, fresh analysis today estimates. The independent study, undertaken by the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) alongside carbon disclosure non-profit CDP and French climate agency ADEME, analysed around 100 of the biggest state-owned and publicly listed oil and gas companies worldwide. It concluded that despite growing escalating public concerns over climate change, tightening environmental regulations, and decarbonisation commitments from a growing band of fossil fuel firms, the industry is still failing to take the decisive action required to slash emissions. Based on current rates of production, the oil and gas giants are set to consume the sector’s allocated carbon budget through to 2050 by 2037 – 13 years too early compared to a scenario where the world stands a chance of limiting temperature increases to 1.5C. Yet the report finds that none of the companies analysed have committed to stopping oil and gas exploration.

Business Green 22nd July 2021 read more »

Trade body CCSA urges sector to seize opportunity to build up domestic supply chain in support of growing CCUS pipeline. Capital investment in carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) projects in the UK could reach £41bn by the end of the decade, opening up a huge opportunity to rapidly develop a strong domestic supply chain that can support UK jobs and economic growth, a new industry report today argues. The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA) said expenditure on CCUS infrastructure, including hydrogen production and greenhouse gas removal projects, was set to surge over the coming decade in response to UK climate targets, including the recently adopted goal to slash emissions 78 per cent against 1990 levels by 2035. In a report published today, the trade body estimated CCUS investment in the UK could reach £41bn by 2030, but that with strategies to support domestic companies, the UK could also develop a supply chain that supports domestic jobs and local manufacturing of related products and goods.

Business Green 22nd July 2021 read more »

On July 19th, 2021, over 500 international, US, and Canadian organizations sent an open letter to policymakers calling on them to “reject carbon capture and storage.” The letter was accompanied by ads in The Washington Post and The Hill Times. Rather than replacing fossil fuels, carbon capture technology prolongs our dependence on them.

CIEL 19th July 2021 read more »

A carbon capture and storage pioneer that plans to complete landmark developments in Scotland has won a valuable vote of confidence from a pensions and investments giant. Storrega Geotechnologies has secured investment from M&G as the company prepares to enter a crucial stage in its development.

Herald 21st July 2021 read more »