18 COLUMN
@ green | July-August , 2021
Shell Oil Company , featured on this series of stamps from the Sultanate of Oman , was instructed by a Dutch Court in June 2021 to reduce its carbon emission levels .
75 per cent of the electricity generated in France comes from nuclear power . Nuclear power has made France one of the largest nett exporters of electricity in the world .
Today , oil and gas , together with coal provide the planet with about 80 percent of its energy requirement . According to market research by IBISWorld , a leading business intelligence firm , total revenues for the global oil and gas exploration and production sector in 2019 amounted to approximately US $ 3.3 trillion .”
Biodiversity is delicate . A large chase for Rare Earth metals could damage the planet irreversibly .
radius of action . Oil also significantly reduced the stress and exhaustion levels of the sailors and the general discomfort that went with coaling . A further advantage was that oil was less bulky than coal , allowing warships to carry more firepower on board . Thus , qualitatively and quantitatively , oil provided superior performance for less size and cost . With the support , influence and enthusiasm of a young Winston Churchill ( who was appointed the First Lord of the Admiralty by then British Prime Minister , H . H . Asquith in 1911 ), the British Royal Navy commenced programmes from 1912 to 1914 to convert five of its ships to oil-powered battleships .
To ensure security of supply of the fuel , an Oil Bill , introduced in the British Parliament by Churchill on June 14 , 1914 , called for the investment of STG 2.2 million pounds by his government for a 51 percent ownership of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company . The deal provided the British government with a large and assured supply of oil while providing Anglo-Persian with much-needed capital and a secure market .
Eleven days after Churchill ’ s Oil Bill , on June 28th , 1914 , Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated , leading directly to the outbreak of World War I .
As for the Anglo-Persian Oil Company , it would become one of the antecedents of BP , eventually a corporation that would become one of the oil supermajors .
Today , oil and gas , together with coal provide the planet with about 80 percent of its energy requirement . According to market research by IBISWorld , a leading business intelligence firm , total revenues for the global oil and gas exploration and production sector in 2019 amounted to approximately US $ 3.3 trillion .
As the 2019 global aggregate Gross Domestic Product has been estimated to be about US $ 86 trillion , the oil and gas exploration and production sector alone makes up around 3.8 per cent of the global economy . Unfortunately , fossil fuels are also responsible for the greenhouse emissions that are at the core of a climate emergency that , if ignored , could ultimately lead to our own extinction as a species .
How did this happen ?
Chasing the Greenback
The story that unfolds to where we are today starts with the Industrial Revolution . Once it got underway , the eventual destination was almost pre-set . Small scale agriculture and the cottage industries founded on handicrafts gave way to mechanised farming and mass production .
The American Civil War ( 1861 – 1865 ) and World War I ( 1914 - 1918 ) were further catalysts of innovation and demand . New forms of weaponry were developed , but novel techniques extended further than those deployed at the mines and factories .
New treatments to extend the longevity of human life were also tested and implemented . Sir Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic surgery at the Royal Infirmary in
Glasgow , Scotland , in 1867 .
This was not a unique event . By 1928 , progress was such that Sir Alexander Fleming , a Scottish physician and microbiologist , discovered the world ’ s first broadly effective antibiotic substance . He named it “ penicillin ”, and which has been described as the “ single greatest victory ever achieved over disease ”.
Higher levels of produced goods were being delivered to domestic markets . Demand also originated from the colonies and territories connected by air , sea , and land transport . Growing levels of trade and commerce resulted in increasing levels of wealth .
The spiral of progress was further enhanced as more medical solutions were developed to fight disease . Populations grew , underpinned by an ever-increasing addiction for greater accessibility to energy .
Five datasets plot the journey . They are all inter-related and are shown below :
The greenhouse gas emission levels measured today are the outcome of our curiosity and a determined chase for increasing levels of wealth , improved standards of living and a quest for convenience and efficiency – the core ideas of a global capitalist orientated community .
We have discovered and extracted carbon-based elements and compounds from the depths of the Earth , found applications for them that enhance our lifestyles and we exhausted ( and continue to exhaust ) toxic emissions into the atmosphere in the name of progress .
Clearly , these lifestyle improvements have been at a cost , with the environment ( from the emissions and biodiversity standpoints ) on the frontline of the damage being done .
Chasing a Green World : What ’ s Next ?
At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference , COP 21 , the Paris Agreement was negotiated and agreed upon . It took effect on April 22 , 2016 ( Earth Day ), when 174 countries signed the agreement in New York and began adopting and ratifying its terms and targets within their own legal systems .
Whilst clear targets have been set ( effectively , Nett Zero emissions by 2050 ), the route to this outcome remains vague . Solar and wind coupled with a general strategy of investment and innovation seem to be part of the plan .
A head-on onslaught via the media , the courtroom ( Milieudefensie , the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth versus Shell ), and the boardroom ( Engine No . 1 versus Exxonmobil ) on those involved in the production of fossil fuels also seems to be on the agenda of public pressure groups .
What is the result ? Is the strategy working ?
The facts are that oil and gas prices are increasing . There is also currently a shortage of the Rare Earth metals required to manufacture solar panels , semiconductors and storage batteries .
Solar and wind are subject to intermittency issues , i . e . the wind is not always blowing , and the sun is not always shining . Large scale , affordable storage is not yet a reality .
With financial solutions shying away from supporting investment in fossil fuel development projects and equity markets also keeping a safe distance from oil and gas companies , only a depressed level of capital is being expended in this area .
With a reducing level of investment being made in the oil and gas sector , and no serious alternatives in the renewables space being found urgently , oil and gas prices will track higher . Energy supply may once again be the subject of wars , and those graphs , presented in the various graphs of this post , may start to veer downwards .
The Nuclear Option
No politician who aspires to an extendedterm in public office would wish to utter words about implementing nuclear energy . But as time runs out , the climate emergency starts morphing into a fullscale climate disaster .
As electrical “ brown-outs ” take effect in a green world , the nuclear option may emerge as the unpopular choice for deployment as the primary global energy backbone . Initially , it will also likely be supported by natural gas for several reasons .
Firstly , natural gas , for many decades so under-rated , is the cleanest amongst fossil fuels . Secondly , it is the raw material used in producing plastic and other petrochemicals , practically essential in daily life .
As a follow on , the smart money will likely support methods to safely reprocess nuclear waste , recycle plastic and capture carbon emissions .
Hydrogen will eventually leap-frog natural gas as a secondary energy source . It will gradually ascend in importance as a component of the energy mix when the requisite supply and delivery infrastructure is constructed .
Energy storage systems , a key enabler for solar and wind solutions to practically become viable will require a paradigm shift in technological approach .
Their reliance on Rare Earth metals in a significant way will only result in a negative impact on the environment . Sadly , more of the biodiversity of our planet will be lost if this pathway is pursued .
In the meantime , the transition to a green world must be managed with science , logic and care . Long term thought leadership and conviction will be required , whilst short-term political agendas will only result in a waste of scarce resources .
Nationalism , emotion and profit , as the drivers of the energy transition , will result in a lop-sided distribution of resources and investment . The outcome will be an unsatisfactory , diverging disparity between the “ haves ” and the “ have-nots ”.
Action is required , but an energy transition is going to be extremely expensive . Thus , it is more important to do it right than to do something fast .
Players in the financial sector also need to be cautious as they consider equity and debt positions in the fossil fuel sector . Hasty withdrawal will only see them as one of the primary contributors to an unstable energy supply environment . Volatility in energy supply is , in the long run , not the desired outcome for any type of sustainable economic activity .
After almost two years of a global medical pandemic , stability is desperately required .
As we look forward , we should never forget the sacrifice made by those magnificent maritime mammals – the whales . Humankind hunted them in the most remote oceans of the world in search of progress and profit . In the process , we harmed the delicate balance of biodiversity found in our environment .
Let us not trek the same path again . This time , let it be humankind that makes the sacrifices , invoking lifestyle changes that reduce our individual carbon footprints . — @ green
Dr Kenneth Pereira , the Managing Director of Hibiscus Petroleum , is an avid stamp collector . The stamps shown here are from his private collection . You can follow his stories on www . drkenp . com .