No new coal, oil or gas development

 Michelle Gamage, a Vancouver-based journalist with an environmental focus who regularly reports on climate for The Tyee,

Source https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2020/07/08/LNGVessel.jpg  

reports that the  International Energy Agency (IEA) annihilates the chance of fossil fuel future.

In a landmark report released Tuesday, the International Energy Agency, an organization made up of over 30 member countries and considered to be the global voice for energy, said the world has to halt all new fossil fuel projects and reduce the demand for coal, oil and gas by 90, 75 and 55 per cent respectively to hit the global climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. That 30-year timeline is to keep the planet from warming more than 1.5 C from pre-industrial levels, which should keep catastrophic impacts from global warming at bay.1

Reuters reports that LNG developers face another year of canceled projects.

Pieridae Energy Ltd's (PEA.TO) CEO Alfred Sorensen said last week that the company's proposed Goldboro project in Nova Scotia was "beginning to look like ‘the last one standing.'" It plans to make its final investment decision by the end of June.2

Roger Harrabin, BBC environment analyst, writes that G7 ministers agree to take new steps against fossil fuels.

The move to keep their policies in line with 1.5C implies much faster action to cut emissions by 2030, rather than by mid-century. Nick Mabey from the climate think tank E3G told BBC News: "This is looking good. "It puts the burden on any fossil fuel development now to prove that it's 1.5C compatible." The ministers are said to have been heavily influenced by a recent report from the rich nations' energy think tank, the IEA. The study said that if the world wanted to reach net-zero emissions by the middle of the century, then there could be no new coal, oil or gas development from now on.3

As world wide efforts to restrain global temperature rise increase, new investments in oil and gas are becoming less attractive and increasingly risky.

 

References

 

1	(2021, May 21). International Energy Agency 'Annihilates' Chance of a Fossil-Fuel .... Retrieved May 21, 2021, from https://thetyee.ca/News/2021/05/21/International-Energy-Agency-Annihilates-Chance-Fossil-Fuel/
2	(2021, May 18). For LNG developers, another year of canceled projects | Reuters. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/lng-developers-another-year-canceled-projects-2021-05-18/
3	(2021, May 21). Climate change: G7 ministers agree new steps against fossil fuels .... Retrieved May 23, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-57203400

Avoiding binary conflict over life

 

We ponder the challenge of a consistent life ethic, and how to live out that commitment in our service to those in need.

Serving Life

 

Emily Reimer-Barry, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of San Diego, presented a Webinar with the Title: Beyond Pro-Life/Pro-Choice: Catholic Perspectives on Life Issues.

This talk investigated the identifiers "pro-life" and "pro-choice," asking what these terms mean, and whether they are adequate for the task at hand. Dr. Reimer-Barry explains authoritative Catholic teachings on "life issues," with a special though not exclusive focus on abortion. Drawing on the Catholic intellectual tradition, feminist and womanist authors, and particular case studies, Dr. Reimer-Barry will highlight the need for an approach to life issues that avoids overly simplistic binaries in favor of a model of accompaniment through messy discernments, recognition of ambiguity, and social justice approaches rooted in the common good.1

Dean Dettloff, writing in America magazine, reports Canada’s bishops withheld aid from groups they thought had ties to abortion and repairing relationships with these groups is proving difficult. Romain Duguay, the deputy executive director of Development and Peace,  said that the relief and development agency shares that D&P is committed to addressing Father Ismael Moreno, S.J. 's concerns.

“The bishops’ concern was disproportionate and misplaced,” Ismael Moreno, S.J., said of the inquiry he received from D&P. Father Moreno is the director of Radio Progreso/Fundación E.R.I.C., a media and human rights ministry in Honduras. D&P’s decision makers suggested “that we are sinners and they are the blameless,” he said, responding by email. “We are the stained ones; they are the flawless ones, and we are saved through them and their truth.” Father Moreno had been asked to clarify articles found on the websites of his organizations. In a fiery reply, which insisted that the discussion should be public rather than confidential, Father Moreno said the editorial line of his organizations does not promote abortion or other issues contrary to Catholic teaching. He acknowledged that some posts have caused confusion, however, and he accepts responsibility for that confusion. But he said that it is also essential to listen to people with other views. Although the precise source of the bishops’ disquiet with some D&P partners has not been publicly acknowledged, many, including former D&P president Jean-Denis Lampron, laid the blame on bishops and lay Catholics provoked by LifeSiteNews, a socially and politically conservative media outlet that has regularly targeted Development and Peace, accusing many of its partners of supporting pro-abortion policies. Mr. Duguay has personally been the target of attacks by LifeSiteNews, but he said its coverage was just part of the reason for the reassessment at D&P. He said the review of both partners and its organizational structures was the result of a long breakdown of trust between the C.C.C.B. and D&P.2

Nicholas Austin SJ has described the approach of Pope Francis as 'Discernment charged with merciful love'.

In the beautiful medieval churches of Europe, one often finds an altarpiece in the form of a ‘triptych’: a central painting complemented by two ‘wings’. What Francis offers is a kind of triptych of discernment, gradualness and mercy. That is, he offers a practice, a principle and a virtue. Together these three panels, as it were, form the basis for a pastoral response to the crisis in marriage and the family. Each has appeared in the pope’s previous teaching, but here we begin to see more clearly how they cash-out, and how, when used in concert and applied to particular questions, they have the potential to make a real difference in the life of the Church.3

The consistent ethic of life is well served by discernment, gradualness, and mercy in our ministry to include all people in our love.

 

References

 

1	(n.d.). Beyond Pro-Life/Pro Choice, Thursday, March 18, 2021, 7:30 - 9pm .... Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://aquinas.emory.edu/calendar.html?trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D144184906&utm_source=Main+Reader+List&utm_campaign=5ffc37b756-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_08_13_08_41_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_407bf353a2-5ffc37b756-92308673
2	(2021, May 20). Canada's bishops withheld aid from groups they thought had ties to .... Retrieved May 21, 2021, from https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2021/05/20/canada-bishops-development-peace-abortion-240646
3	(2016, April 8). 'Discernment charged with merciful love': Pope Francis' Amoris Laetitia .... Retrieved May 24, 2019, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/discernment-charged-merciful-love-pope-francis%E2%80%99-amoris-laetitia-love-family-0

Skilled Employment to Meet Net Zero Goals

 Research by the International Energy Agency and action to train thousands of energy efficiency experts in Canada indicate commitment to mitigation of the effects of the climate emergency.

Solar electrical skills needed

 

Emma Grane, energy reporter for the Globe and Mail, writes about a new report from the International Energy Agency that declares investment in any new oil and gas developments must stop immediately, electricity should be 90 per cent renewable by 2050 and governments must “close the gap between rhetoric and action” if the world is to meet its goal of net-zero emissions and limit the worst impacts of climate change.

 

It recommends no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects or coal plants without carbon-reduction technology, starting today. By 2030, it says, solar and wind should be scaling up at four times the speed they did in 2020, and by 2035 there should be no sales of new internal-combustion-engine passenger cars. Reaching net-zero will require a huge decline in the use of fossil fuels, falling from almost four-fifths of total energy supply today to slightly more than one-fifth by 2050, it says. Those that remain in play in 2050 should only be used where the carbon is part of the product (such as plastics), in facilities fitted with carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and in sectors in which low-emissions technology options are scarce.1

The International Energy Agency recommends no investment in new fossil fuel supply projects or coal plants without carbon-reduction technology, starting today.

 

Benjamin Storrow, E&E News, published by Scientific American on May 18, 2021, reports that Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 are possible according to a landmark report from the International Energy Agency that outlines the steps needed to overhaul energy systems to meet global warming goals. Net Zero by 2050 is a roadmap for the Global Energy Sector.

 IEA’s findings are significant on several levels. Net-zero road maps are traditionally the provenance of academics, International Panel on Climate Change modelers and green-hued think tanks. The IEA, an agency established in response to the oil crisis of 1973 and 1974, has long been pilloried by greens for failing to accurately capture the growth of renewables and for a hesitant embrace of the energy transition. In that sense, today’s report represents an endorsement from the energy establishment, giving industry credence to the idea it is possible to essentially eliminate emissions from the world’s energy system in the next three decades. “IEA analysis has been used to prop up the fossil fuel system,” said Kingsmill Bond, an energy strategist at Carbon Tracker, a London-based think tank that studies the financial impact of climate change. “The fact the IEA specifically has come out with this analysis suggesting that change is possible is extremely significant.”2

The IEA examines the full spectrum of energy issues including oil, gas and coal supply and demand, renewable energy technologies, electricity markets, energy efficiency, access to energy, demand side management and much more.

 

This special report is the world’s first comprehensive study of how to transition to a net zero energy system by 2050 while ensuring stable and affordable energy supplies, providing universal energy access, and enabling robust economic growth. It sets out a cost-effective and economically productive pathway, resulting in a clean, dynamic and resilient energy economy dominated by renewables like solar and wind instead of fossil fuels. The report also examines key uncertainties, such as the roles of bioenergy, carbon capture and behavioural changes in reaching net zero.3

Through its work, the IEA advocates policies that will enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy in its 30 member countries, 8 association countries and beyond.

Electrical Generation Changes

 

The Canadian Press reports that Ottawa is looking for 2,000 new energy auditors to get a home retrofit program going that promises to provide homeowners up to $5K in grants to make upgrades that curb energy use.

 

"We need to train more because I think very soon we will be announcing an ambitious greener homes initiative and it is going to affect thousands of Canadians," O'Regan said. "And we know that energy advisers are going to be in demand. Recruiting up to 2,000 more of them right across the country is a very good investment for what's coming down the pipe on the greener homes announcements." All buildings in Canada, including homes, private businesses and public buildings, contribute almost one-fifth of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions each year, largely from the fuels used for heating and electricity.4

Efficiency Canada joined Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at an announcement of a $10 million investment in training for new energy advisors. Corey Diamond, the executive director of Efficiency Canada, the national voice for an energy efficient economy, based at Carleton University. Efficiency Canada advocates for policies that will help Canada maximize the benefits of energy efficiency to support a sustainable environment, a productive economy and a just and equitable society.

 

Corey Diamond, executive director of Efficiency Canada, the national voice for an energy efficient economy, based at Carleton University, tells a story about Shawna Henderson. Shawna is the founder and CEO of the training company Blue House Energy in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is a veteran in the energy efficiency space, having worked in the industry since 1991. In 2001, as a single mother, she began training people in energy efficiency and related construction fields, driving herself and her kids around her home province talking to anyone that would listen about the benefits of saving energy. She eventually decided to take her know-how online and launched Blue House Energy’s education platform in 2012. She is known across the country now as an expert energy advisor, passing her knowledge down to the next generation of energy advisors with a staff of 9.5

Investment and employment associated with the effort to achieve a Net Zero Economy are turning to energy efficient buildings and a large increase in the role of solar and wind resources in the generation of electricity. These trends point to areas of skilled employment in the next few decades.

 

References

1	(2021, May 18). Planet's pathway to net-zero means no new oil and gas spending .... Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-pathway-to-net-zero-means-no-new-oil-and-gas-developments-iea-report/
2	(2021, May 18). Net-Zero Emissions by 2050 Are Possible, Landmark Report Says .... Retrieved May 19, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/net-zero-emissions-by-2050-are-possible-landmark-report-says/
3	(2021, May 18). Net Zero by 2050 – Analysis - IEA. Retrieved May 19, 2021, from https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050
4	(2021, May 17). Ottawa looking for 2,000 new energy auditors to get home retrofit .... Retrieved May 19, 2021, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/energy-auditors-1.6029660
5	(2021, May 17). Efficiency Canada joins Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at .... Retrieved May 19, 2021, from https://www.efficiencycanada.org/efficiency-canada-joins-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-at-announcement-of-a-10-million-investment-in-training-for-new-energy-advisors/

 

Struggle with Wording of Fossil Fuel Facts

 

Recent articles on the struggle between the oil and gas industry and organizations attempting to meet the emission reduction goals required to mitigate the effects of the climate emergency point out the need to critically think about the language used to influence opinion.

Electricity or Fossil Fuel?

 

CBC host Laura Lynch of the program “What On Earth” explored research from Harvard about the language of climate change used in public documents of ExxonMobil.

 

New analysis from Harvard measures how ExxonMobil used language to make individuals feel responsible for climate change, similar to the strategy used by tobacco companies in the past. Aired: May 16, 20211

Justin Worland, writing in Time magazine, reports on the study that concludes ExxonMobil wants you to take responsibility for Climate Change.

 In addition to shifting the responsibility individuals, one of the firm’s recent key strategies has been to emphasize what researchers call “climate risk” framing. Instead of using the term “climate change” in public communications, the company often refers to “climate risk,” along with related phrases like “potential risks” and “long-term risk.” The risk phrasing suggests there is uncertainty about if and how climate change will play out, without explicitly questioning the science. Researchers found this framing prevalent externally but not internally.2

The Journal, One Earth, reports the article by Geoffrey Supran and Naomi Oreskes of Harvard that is a rhetoric and frame analysis of ExxonMobil's climate change communications.

 

•ExxonMobil's public climate change messaging mimics tobacco industry propaganda

•Rhetoric of climate “risk” downplays the reality and seriousness of climate change

•Rhetoric of consumer “demand” (versus fossil fuel supply) individualizes responsibility

•Fossil Fuel Savior frame uses “risk” and “demand” to justify fossil fuels, blame customers3

Seth Klein, writing in the National Observer, notes that E&E News has exposed leaked documents that revealed many of North America’s major gas companies have been scheming to block electrification.

 

the consortium notes: “Natural gas (fossil fuel) in for fight of its life.” They are right about that. Hopefully, anyway. But they have no intention of going quietly into the night. Rather, consortium members are exhorted: “Everyone needs to contact legislators in favour of NG (natural gas),” and “Renewable Natural Gas is coming (likely will save NG business).” The slide says partners “have to continue to work together to grow this market.” The messages here cannot be accused of subtlety. They rightly see efforts, particularly at the municipal level, to ban or phase out the use of natural gas in buildings as an existential threat. “The fear of losing market share to non-fossil alternatives terrifies the gas companies,” Greenpeace climate campaigner Keith Stewart wrote in a post about the revelation, “but it should delight the rest of us.” “It’s going to be an ugly fight,” says Kai Nagata, communications director with the non-profit action group Dogwood, which campaigns on climate issues and has run workshops encouraging people to fuel-swap. (Full disclosure: I’m on Dogwood’s board.) “Fortis is a cornered animal. That’s what the consortium documents reveal. But it’s them or us. It’s their shareholders or our kids. Their future requires more houses tying into gas lines and our future requires the opposite.” The simple reality is this — if the number of new buildings tying into gas and the number of existing buildings upgrading their gas systems continues to be larger than those switching to electric heat pumps or other non-carbon fuel sources, then we’re not going to hit our climate targets. With trends like this, we’re fried.4

Benjamin Storrow, E&E News reporter, identifies some of the upcoming battlegrounds where some companies will transform, some will consolidate, and some will go away.

 Massachusetts looks like the next battleground. The state recently enacted a climate law to eliminate greenhouse gases by 2050. That will require zeroing out emissions associated with heating and cooling buildings, which accounted for roughly 27% of the state's greenhouse gases in 2017, according to the most recent Massachusetts data. When Massachusetts regulators mapped out a path to zero emissions late last year, they concluded that swapping out oil- and gas-fueled furnaces, boilers and water heaters for electric alternatives constituted the most cost-effective strategy. That represents a potential threat to companies like Eversource, which last year paid $1.1 billion to acquire the Massachusetts-based assets of Columbia Gas, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc. "None of these companies want to write their own obituary," said Deborah Gordon, a former petroleum engineer who now serves as a senior principal at RMI, a think tank that favors electrification. "If you're going to bend this curve, and we bend it quickly, there are going to be casualties. Some will transform, some will consolidate, some will go away."5

Joan Baxter, writing in the Halifax Examiner, reports on the Goldboro Gamble as Germans and Canadians join to oppose a proposed Nova Scotian liquid natural gas plant that “nobody needs."

 

The Examiner asked Hughes Larry Hughes, professor at Dalhousie University and founding fellow of the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance, whether he viewed the project as positive for Nova Scotia, and if not, what the disadvantages were. He replied: First, the project is for the export of natgas [natural gas], so Nova Scotians will not benefit from the natgas. There will undoubtedly be short-term (~5 year) employment benefits during the construction phase. Once the plant is operating, the numbers will fall sharply. The promise of jobs in a depressed economy is music to any politician’s ear … However, both the construction and operating phases of the project are emissions intensive. This will affect Nova Scotia’s attempt to reduce its emissions by 53% from 2005 levels by 2030. The 2030 target is about 11 megatonnes and once operating, Pieridae will be emitting 3.7 megatonnes. Without some form of carbon offsetting, the province will exceed its 2030 target. Positive in the short-term, negative in the long-term. The province needs to ask itself, what is more important?6

Reuters Staff reports that Pieridae still plans a final investment decision (FID) by June 30 on the Goldboro LNG export plant.

 

Pieridae said engineering firm Bechtel Corp plans to deliver a fixed-price proposal to build the plant by the end of May.There are currently 13 projects in North America, including Goldboro, that have said they plan to make FIDs in 2021. Analysts, however, expect only one or two projects will actually go forward this year. One project many analysts expect to go forward this year is Venture Global LNG’s Plaquemines plant in Louisiana. Goldboro is designed to produce about 10 MTPA. Pieridae plans to source the gas for Goldboro from its production in Alberta and transport it via existing pipelines, including the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline from New England to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, which passes near the Goldboro site.7

https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/PHOTO-08-Pieridae-corporate-presentation-showing-pipeline-route.png 

The marketing effort to delay action to reduce fossil fuel emissions by promising short term gain for long term pain is a strategy that requires critical study by Nova Scotians who are concerned about the environment that our children and grandchildren will inhabit.

 

References

 

1	(n.d.). What On Earth with Laura Lynch | Live Radio | CBC Listen - CBC.ca. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-429-what-on-earth
2	(2021, May 13). How ExxonMobil Has Shifted Climate Change Messaging | Time. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from https://time.com/6048162/exxonmobil-climate-change/
3	(n.d.). Rhetoric and frame analysis of ExxonMobil's climate change .... Retrieved May 16, 2021, from https://www.cell.com/cms/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.04.014/attachment/0cf34a0c-453f-44fa-b7b8-5774b67eefd6/mmc1.pdf
4	(2021, May 17). Time to stop playing nice with fossil fuel companies | Canada's .... Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/05/17/opinion/time-stop-playing-nice-fossil-fuel-companies-blocking-climate-action
5	(2021, May 3). Leaked docs: Gas industry secretly fights electrification ... - E&E News. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.eenews.net/stories/1063731537
6	(n.d.). The Goldboro Gamble Part 2 - Halifax Examiner. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/province-house/the-goldboro-gamble-2/
7	(2021, April 15). Pieridae still plans FID on Nova Scotia LNG export plant by late June. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.reuters.com/article/pieridae-energy-goldboro-lng/pieridae-still-plans-fid-on-nova-scotia-lng-export-plant-by-late-june-idUSL1N2M82CF