GLOBAL POLICY
The Paris climate goals demand a rapid, just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. We’re pushing governments to lead the way by adopting policies to end oil and gas production.
OVERVIEW OF WORK
In order to achieve climate goals, governments and other decision makers must support a just and equitable move away from fossil fuels. We are pushing for precedent-setting leadership from governments to put policies in place to manage the decline of oil and gas and ensure a just transition for fossil-fuel dependent workers and communities.
Building from a growing group of first mover governments, we are pressuring for increasing numbers of national and regional governments to end new licenses and permits for oil and gas production, and to develop plans to wind down their existing production over time.
LATEST PROGRAM POSTS
A typically insightful piece from Anna Zalik and Michael Watts from the University of California on the deteriorating situation in the Niger Delta. Called "Imperial Oil: Petroleum Politics in the Nigerian Delta and the New Scramble for Africa", it is worthwhile reading if you are interested in the effect of US geo-politics on Africa. Read it here.
Great article from Business Week Magazine about how Exxon attacked Greenpeace through an organisation called Public Interest Watch. Although this was recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, what was not reported was the role of the shadowy PR firm called Dezenhall Resources, whom the article calls the "pit bull of PR". If you want to know how low Exxon and it's pit bull will stoop to undermine its critics, you should read this revealing article..
For years oil analyst-turned whistleblower, Chuck Hamel, has been saying that the oil company operations in Alaska are a sham. He has become a conduit for whistleblowers working on the North Slope and for Alyeska -the joint pipeline company.
They have bought to him information concerning corrosion, quality assurance, health and safety and many other issues. Basically Hamel’s message has been that it is a disaster waiting to happen. The oil industry has routinely dismissed Hamel's concerns, but for how much longer?
Lloyd’s of London – the global insurers – recorded an annual loss of £103 million before tax last year after a record £3.3 billion of hurricane-related insurance claims. But they are not alone: Insurers worldwide have been hit hard as a result of last year's devastating hurricanes Katrina and Rita, with total claims expected to reach about £50 billion.
LATEST PROGRAM RESEARCH
This new report, “Public Enemies: Assessing MDB and G20 international finance institutions’ energy finance” looks at G20 country and MDB traceable international public finance for fossil fuels from 2020-2022 and finds they are still backing at least USD 47 billion per year in oil, gas, and coal projects.
This briefing assesses Shell’s fossil fuel extraction plans in light of Shell's appeal of a Dutch court verdict requiring the company to take responsibility for its climate pollution. Our analysis shows that Shell continues to plan for levels of oil and gas production and investment that undermine the world’s chances of curtailing climate disaster.
The countries that produce oil and gas from the North Sea (Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark) rank among the countries with the greatest economic capacity and responsibility to rapidly phase out extraction, and to finance just transitions to renewable energy solutions domestically and abroad.