Climate Change and fossil fuel industry

I read three different articles this week, that all featured different aspects of the fossil fuel industry, and various relationships with it - so this seemed a good place to bring them together and summarise them.

1. Oil Firms going the wrong way?
A new report by Carbon Tracker has estimated that oil and gas companies have approved around $50bn of investment in new projects that undermine international climate targets since 2018!

This is a simply staggering revelation - that not one of the major oil firms is investing in a way that is compatible with the targets set by the Paris Agreement for keeping global warming at under 2°C. An example of this would be Exxon Mobil's $2.6bn Aspen project in Canada, for exploitation of greenfield oil sands.

"Every major is betting heavily against a 1.5°C world and investing in projects that are contrary to the Paris goals. The best way to preserve shareholder value in the transition and alignment with climate change goals will be to focus on low cost projects that will deliver the highest returns." (Andrew Grant - senior analyst with Carbon Tracker)

Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, Total, Conoco Phillips and Equinox - have all put at least 30% of their investments for 2018 into projects that are not compatible with Paris. Exxon is estimated to have put 90% of its potential spending up to 2030 into projects not in line with the Paris Agreement.

And investors are increasingly becoming concerned with the climate change risks to their portfolios, with initiatives like Climate Action 100+ trying to drive sustainability from the investment side.

2. Islam and oil:
This brings me rather neatly on to the second article. 

Three major Islamic faith-based organisations have written a joint statement calling for divestment from fossil fuels, and into renewable energy. The Bahu Trust, the Islamic Foundation for Environmental & Ecological Sciences (IFEES) and Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) have written this letter pointing out that fossil fuel profiting in its current form is "morally wrong" and recounts a verse of the Quran that centres around human destruction of the natural world.

'Corruption has appeared on land and sea by what people's own hands have wrought; that He may let them taste the consequences of their deeds so that they may turn back.' (Quran 30:41)

The statement also refers to the Islamic Declaration on Global Climate Change which was authored by IFEES founder Dr Fazlun Khalid. This calls on Muslims to reduce their carbon footprint, and commit to 100% renewable energy.

"Loving the creation of Allah's is part of one's love for Allah. Divesting from fossil fuels and reinvesting in cleaner renewable energy is the only way to provide for a sustainable future for the generations already born and those to come."

This is a fantastic document, and well worth reading - the English language version can be downloaded here.

Elsewhere, the Fiqh Council of North America recently issued a fatwa (authoritative religious ruling), calling for a rapid transition to renewable energy. It also affirmed the divestment commitment made by the Islamic Society of North America in 2016, which called on all Islamic investment houses and funds to immediately develop fossil fuel free portfolios, and increase commitment to renewable and clean energy companies.

3. Investment may be the key to climate change:
Around $1.8trn invested into climate change adaptation measures over the next decade could yield around $7.1trn in net returns! So says a recent cost-benefit analysis by the Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA).

This is not some weird fringe-element think-tank; but one being led by former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, World Bank CEO, Kristalina Georgieva and Microsoft founder, Bill Gates.

L-R: Ban Ki-Moon, Bill Gates, Kristaline Georgieva (Wikimedia / Wikicommons)

They warn that no investment in climate change adaptation will lead to ever more conflict and instability, and suggest five key areas for spending;

• Early warning systems
• Climate resilient infrastructure
• Improved dryland agriculture
• Mangrove protection
• Water resource resilience

"Climate change doesn't respect borders. It's an international problem that can only be solved with co-operation and collaboration across borders and worldwide." (Ban Ki-moon)

Climate change adaptation can deliver a 'triple dividend' by avoiding future losses, generating positive economic gains through innovation and delivering social and environmental benefits (such as protection for coastal communities from storms, or protecting mangrove in Thailand to improve habitat for fisheries).

The GCA show that resilience projects can deliver benefit to cost ration of between 2:1 and 10:1 (and occasionally even higher than that). They say that there are three revolutions needed; understanding - planning - finance. Climate change impacts need to be factored into every level of decision making - we'll leave the last word to Bill Gates;

"Adaptation is an urgent issue that needs support from governments and businesses to ensure those most at risk have the opportunities to thrive."

Research:
https://transform.iema.net/article/oil-giants-spend-50bn-new-projects-undermine-climate-targets?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=
https://transform.iema.net/article/global-leaders-call-18trn-climate-adaption-investment?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=
https://transform.iema.net/article/islamic-community-calls-fossil-fuel-divestment?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=
https://twitter.com/bahutrustuk/status/1171357355109429248/photo/1