renewables

Oil group Equinor must explain climate discrepancy, minority owners say

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North Sea oil rigs in Cromarty Firth, Scotland. Credit: joiseyshowaa (CC BY-SA 2.0)
North Sea oil rigs in Cromarty Firth, Scotland. Credit: joiseyshowaa (CC BY-SA 2.0)

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/oil-group-equinor-must-explain-climate-discrepancy-minority-owners-say-2025-04-22/#:~:text=OSLO%2C%20April%2022%20(Reuters),minority%20shareholders%20said%20on%20Tuesday.

OSLO, April 22 (Reuters) – The board of Norway’s Equinor (EQNR.OL), opens new tab must explain how the company’s plan to raise oil and gas production aligns with its stated commitment to the Paris agreement on curbing climate change, a group of minority shareholders said on Tuesday.

Equinor, which is 67% government owned, this year joined the likes of Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab and BP (BP.L), opens new tab in promising higher petroleum output while scaling back investment in renewables.

In a resolution to be voted on at Equinor’s May 14 annual general meeting, the minority owners said there were “material inconsistencies” between the company’s climate strategy and the policy expectations expressed by its majority shareholder.

Those expectations, laid out by Noway’s government two years ago, included Equinor setting targets and implementing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions “in both the short and long term” in line with the 2015 Paris climate accord.

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Article continues at https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/cop/oil-group-equinor-must-explain-climate-discrepancy-minority-owners-say-2025-04-22/#:~:text=OSLO%2C%20April%2022%20(Reuters),minority%20shareholders%20said%20on%20Tuesday.

Continue ReadingOil group Equinor must explain climate discrepancy, minority owners say

Solar energy could power all health facilities in poorer countries and save lives, experts say

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Solar panels
Solar panels

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/17/solar-energy-could-power-all-health-facilities-in-poorer-countries-and-save-lives-experts-say

Move would cost less than $5bn and cut toll of deaths from power outages and lack of supply, Cop28 delegates will hear

All healthcare facilities in poorer countries could be electrified using solar energy within five years for less than $5bn, putting an end to the risk of life from power outages, experts will argue at Cop28 this month.

“I would like the international community to commit to a deadline and funding to electrify all healthcare facilities,” said Salvatore Vinci, an adviser on sustainable energy at the World Health Organization and a member of its Cop28 delegation. “We have solutions now that were not available 10 years ago – there is no reason why babies should be dying today because there is not electricity to power their incubators.

“It’s a low-hanging fruit. There is nothing stopping us,” he said.

About 1 billion people around the world do not have access to a healthcare facility with a stable electricity connection, including 433 million in low-income countries who rely on facilities with no electricity at all, according to the WHO’s Energising Health: Accelerating Electricity Access in Healthcare Facilities report, which was published in January, and co-authored by Vinci.

Electricity is the lifeblood of a functioning healthcare facility, not only powering devices such as ventilators and cardiac monitors, but providing basics amenities such as lighting. Without these basic facilities, even routine conditions can be deadly or lead to complications. Healthcare facilities in countries vulnerable to the impact of extreme weather events will often experience outages because of storms and flooding.

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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/nov/17/solar-energy-could-power-all-health-facilities-in-poorer-countries-and-save-lives-experts-say

Continue ReadingSolar energy could power all health facilities in poorer countries and save lives, experts say

BP accused of putting ‘profit before people and planet’ as fossil fuel investments revealed

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Extinction Rebellion protests at BP
Extinction Rebellion protests at BP. Banner reads big profits before planet

https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/bp-accused-of-putting-profit-before-people-and-planet-as-fossil-fuel-investments-revealed/

The energy giant BP has been accused of prioritising its profits over people and the planet after making £2.7 billion in profit over the last quarter, while investing £2 billion in fossil fuels.

Leading think tank IPPR said now was a time when energy companies should be urgently responding to climate change, but instead BP has “doubled down on its oil and gas business to reap enormous profits.”

For every £1 BP spent on low carbon investments in the last quarter, they invested £11 in fossil fuels it was revealed. And since the energy price shock began two years ago, BP has put nine times more into fossil fuels as renewables.

BP also completed more than £14.8 billion of buybacks from surplus cash flow whilst announcing a new round of share buybacks, which will transfer £1.2 billion to shareholders.

“It’s clear that oil and gas companies are prioritising their shareholders at the expense of the transition to clean energy, so the UK government must now take the reins by investing in renewables,” said Joseph Evans, IPPR researcher.

Although BP’s profits have actually fallen on last year, when the oil company saw mega earnings following the rise in oil prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, £2.7 billion profit between July and September remains extremely high as organisations ask why ordinary people are still facing high energy bills.

“The government has had countless opportunities to bring down our bills and emissions. Instead, all we’ve had are weakened green policies and massive tax breaks for oil and gas giants,” Friends of the Earth responded.

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/11/bp-accused-of-putting-profit-before-people-and-planet-as-fossil-fuel-investments-revealed/

Continue ReadingBP accused of putting ‘profit before people and planet’ as fossil fuel investments revealed

A day after IEA calls for no new oil & gas development, UK approves vast Rosebank oil field

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A day after IEA calls for no new oil & gas development, UK approves vast Rosebank oil field

Timing, they say, is everything. Yesterday, the world’s energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA), published its latest report, the 2023 Net Zero Roadmap.

The IEA categorically stated that the time for no new oil and gas was over. If we are to keep temperatures to 1.5 degrees, then world leaders must not develop new oil, gas, or coal beyond existing fields.

If we want a liveable planet, we must shift from fossil fuels to renewables.

This is not the first time, either, that the IEA has confirmed that no new oil, gas, or coal fields are compatible with limiting global temperature rise to 1.5ºC.

“Keeping alive the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C requires the world to come together quickly. The good news is we know what we need to do – and how to do it,” said IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol at the launch of the report. The IEA reiterated the way to do it is not to approve new oil and gas fields.

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Continue ReadingA day after IEA calls for no new oil & gas development, UK approves vast Rosebank oil field