Business leaders from international companies including Royal Dutch Shell, General Electric, BHP Billiton and HSBC have backed a plan for a transition to a low-carbon energy system including electricity produced almost entirely from renewable sources such as wind and solar by the 2030s. The Energy Transitions Commission, a group of business leaders, representatives of international institutions and environmental groups, argues that it is technically and economically possible to meet the world’s growing need for energy and to limit the risk of catastrophic global warming. But it said in a report published on Tuesday that the pace of improvement in energy efficiency and in cutting carbon emissions from energy production must be “far higher” than that achieved over the past 30 years, to meet the objective set at the 2015 Paris climate talks of keeping the rise in global temperatures “well below” 2C.
FT 25th April 2017 read more »
One of the world’s top energy analysts who predicted a looming peak in oil demand is putting his money where his mouth is: quitting his Wall Street job to work in the renewables industry. Seth Kleinman, global head of energy strategy at Citigroup, said he is stepping down to become the clean energy director of a non-profit that helps kickstart businesses in Costa Rica. “Renewables are quickly encroaching on demand growth for oil,” said Mr Kleinman. “Now is a good time to go, I’ve been talking about it for years. I was an early proponent of the peak oil demand theory.” The prospect of “peak demand” for oil has found a growing chorus of supporters among some analysts and energy companies that believe an end to growth in global consumption could come by 2040 if governments aggressively pursue targets for lowering emissions. Others, from t he International Energy Agency to the Saudi Arabian government, have questioned this assumption, saying growth in emerging markets will see oil demand rise even if developed economies curb consumption, with global demand predicted to top 100m barrels per day by the end of this decade. Ed Morse, Citigroup’s global head of commodities and former US government energy adviser, said in an internal note seen by the Financial Times the move into a “strikingly different” area was unsurprising given Mr Kleinman’s “growing near-obsession” with renewables in recent years.
FT 25th April 2017 read more »