Opinion pieces from leading editorialists across the industry.

Barring carbon capture technology becoming viable, the journey to net zero will require an early and complete move out of fossil fuels.

The Business Times

Singapore’s energy transition promises both opportunities and challenges ahead

A new study led by the University of Leeds has found that the world’s largest fossil fuel companies are planning or already conducting 425 “carbon bomb” oil and gas projects

earth.com

"Carbon bomb” projects must be halted to limit global warming

Mexico’s dirty fossil fuel industry has led to several powers to criticise the country’s energy sector and demand better oversight. 

Oil Price

Mexico’s Push For Energy Independence Comes At A Cost

China’s electricity output plummeted last month as virus restrictions in Shanghai and other parts of the country pummeled economic activity from factory floors to steel mills and shopping malls.

Bloomberg

China’s Coal and Gas Power Plummets as Covid Zero Hammers Demand

Measures in Queen’s speech would have outlawed protests that won votes for women and legalisation of unions, say critics. Environmental campaign groups have hit out at the “draconian” protest crackdown bill announced in the Queen’s speech. The new law appears to be targeted at groups such as Extinction Rebellion, 

The Guardian

‘Criminalising our right to protest’: green groups’ anger over public order bill

A new analysis published this week reveals it is now clearly cheaper for countries to switch from coal-fired generation to renewables than it is to swap from coal to natural gas as a bridge to renewables.

Renew Economy

Direct switch from coal to renewables cheaper than going over gas “bridge”

Hours after Moscow warned there would be retaliation for Helsinki’s announcement that it is applying for NATO membership, Finnish media reports that the Kremlin threatened to cut the country off from Russian gas by Friday. 



Russia Could Cut Gas Supplies To Finland  

Germany is building more LNG terminals to make up for the loss of Russian gas. In a few years, some of that infrastructure could be used to handle green fuels that power grids and heat homes.



Bloomberg Green

How Germany’s LNG Terminals Will Morph Into Green Hydrogen Hubs

Within days of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s financial system seemed on the verge of collapse. The West imposed a range of financial sanctions, notably on the Russian central bank’s foreign-exchange reserves, that sent the rouble plunging and led citizens to withdraw cash frantically. Then the central bank raised interest rates, imposed capital controls and injected liquidity into the banking system, and some of these misfortunes reversed. Although a chunk of Russia’s currency reserves remains frozen, the country still generates about $1bn a day from its energy exports.



The Economist

Russia is on track for a record trade surplus

Congressional Democrats are proposing numerous bills against Big Oil for the crime of profiteering. They plan to introduce legislation next week to expand the Federal Trade Commission's authority to investigate price gouging and give the President the power to limit price increases.

Forbes

Congress Picks Populism Over Increased Supply With Price Gouging Legislation

For decades, oil and gas companies expected to have an enterprise value fairly close to their PV-10 calculations in their annual reserve report.  That’s not the case these days.  The reserve report’s relevance has waned.  They are not obsolete, but investors are focused on other things.

Have Reserve Reports Been Relegated To Investor Footnotes?

Natural gas prices have tripled since January, adding more fuel to the inflation plaguing the White House's popularity.

Politico

Biden's other gas price quagmire

Republicans link the move to rising gas prices while the administration said it was a result of conflicting legal opinions and a lack of interest among bidders.

The New York Times

Biden Administration Cancels Oil Drilling Sales in Alaska and Gulf of Mexico

Profits are way up for the world’s biggest publicly traded energy companies like ExxonMobil and Shell, as oil surged above $100 a barrel amid pent-up post-pandemic demand for driving and flying.

Global 2000: Big Profits For Big Oil, As Russian Sanctions Combine With Pent-Up Demand

A team led by CoorsTek Membrane Sciences has demonstrated a system to convert methane via proton ceramic reactors, while Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser has received an order from an undisclosed Indian refinery for an alkaline electrolyzer, in a deal that underscores how oil and gas companies are becoming increasingly interested in the hydrogen sector.

PV Magazine

Oil producers showing rising interest in hydrogen

Oil companies with climate goals and commitments are increasingly selling assets to private and less scrutinized operators with lower environmental standards

Big Oil Sells Billions Of Dollars Of Assets To Less Transparent Firms

Australia has no clear strategy to decarbonise transport. That's a problem, because without a plan, our take-up of clean technologies like electric cars, trucks and buses is slow. It's stopping us from meeting our climate commitments. And it leaves us paying exorbitant prices for imported oil at the fuel pump, as well as in the cost of groceries and services.

Tech Xplore

Australia could rapidly shift to clean transport with a strategy—so we put this plan together

Consumer prices fell for the first time in eight months—but remain elevated.

Dow Falls 300 Points As Red-Hot Inflation Report And Sinking Tech Stocks Drag Markets Lower

Consumer prices fell for the first time in eight months but remain elevated.

Stocks Rebound After Inflation Moderates Slightly, Giving Investors Hope That Prices May Have Peaked

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions on Russian oil, the price of crude oil rapidly climbed above $120 a barrel

Gasoline Prices May Have Finally Peaked

Governments are shifting energy policies back in favour of fossil fuels in the short term, raising fears the energy transition may end up on the back burner

IFA Magazine

Is energy security siphoning power from the green energy transition?

Germany and Qatar have hit difficulties in talks over long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply deals amid differences over key conditions

Reuters

Germany, Qatar at odds over terms in talks on LNG supply deal

If you are the owner of an oil refinery, then crude is trading happily just a little above $110 a barrel — expensive, but not extortionate. If you aren’t an oil baron, I have bad news: it’s as if oil is trading somewhere between $150 and $275 a barrel.


Energy Voice

Sorry, but for you, oil trades at $250 a barrel

BP, Shell and Total have singled out their trading divisions for praise but won’t say how much money they make

Financial Times

Trade secrets: oil majors keep quiet on a key profit driver

The average gallon of regular fuel reached $4.37. But West Texas crude fell below $100, a decline of roughly 10 percent since the weekend.

U.S. gasoline prices hit a high, but the oil market may signal relief.

The transactions can help major oil and gas companies clean up their own production by transferring polluting assets to a different firm, the analysis said.

Oil Giants Sell Dirty Wells to Buyers With Looser Climate Goals, Study Finds

Damien Gayle, a Guardian environment correspondent, follows a group of climate activists as they try to paralyse the UK's fossil fuel distribution network. We film with him as the&nbsp;protesters break into oil terminals, glue themselves to the road, climb onboard oil tankers and let down their tyres. 

Inside Just Stop Oil: the 'hooligan' climate protesters taking on the tankers 

The magnitude of the natural gas resource offshore Timor Leste had attendees at the recent OTC conference in Houston buzzing about the country's potential to become the 'next Guyana,' with a resource play that could change its economic future.

Timor Leste’s Energy Ambitions Could Make It The ‘Next Guyana’

Strong performance comes as politicians call for windfall tax on UK energy industry

Profits at British Gas owner Centrica forecast at top of expected range

EU countries are fiercely debating a proposal to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year. There is huge uncertainty about what effect it will have on Europe – and Russia.

Offshore Technology

What will an EU embargo on Russian oil mean?

For new hydrocarbons search to make sense, there has to be a market need and the development must be low-carbon

The National

Do we really need new oil and gas exploration?

In recent weeks, the EU has again shown clarity of thought when faced by another crisis, this time a war on its borders, to further deepen the decarbonization of its energy system whilst at the same time increasing the continent’s energy security.

The Ukraine War Will Accelerate Europe’s Energy Transition

At least one area of Russia's budget has improved from the fallout of its invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s Oil Revenues Are Soaring

The White House on Sunday announced visa restrictions against about 2,600 Russian and Belarusian officials associated with the war on Ukraine.

Latest Russia Sanctions: U.S. Targets Bank Execs And G7 Pledges To Cut Off Russian Oil

Looks like India hasn’t learnt from similar experiences in the past. Even though coal stocks run critically low at power plants, it’s not possible for Coal India to meet the rising demand alone. What has added fuel to the fire is non-payment of dues by discoms to power plants, miscalculations on domestic coal production, imports, allocation, and logistics.

Economic Times

Inside India’s power crisis: an overworked coal miner, a mountain of dues, slow scaling green energy

Rates have jumped because of a surge in natural gas prices and could keep rising rapidly for years as utilities invest in electric grids.

Get Ready for Another Energy Price Spike: High Electric Bills

Responding to the invasion of Ukraine, the EU commission plans its biggest sanction yet.



Power Technology

EU plans total embargo of Russian oil, but obstacles remain

Energy Monitor

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the EU’s current proposals are too costly and would not give Hungary enough time to wean itself off Russian oil.

An Economic ‘Atomic Bomb’: Hungary Threatens EU’s Latest Sanctions Against Russia, Including Oil Embargo

Capacity to balance the budget depends on whether producers meet logistics challenge of switch to Asia

Russian economy could weather impact of EU oil ban

A 1GW solar farm in sunny Spain would need to run for a year to produce the same amount of primary energy as a tanker full of American LNG, writes Keynumbers founder John Poljak

Recharge

Could Europe replace Russian gas with green hydrogen? Let's look at the numbers

Climate concerns, investor reticence and political disputes complicate a shift to supplies from the United States, North Africa and the Mediterranean.

Europe’s Quest to Replace Russian Gas Faces Plenty of Hurdles

U.S. producers are forbidden from colluding. EU producers are required to pursue low-carbon agendas. OPEC and Russia have rotating agendas that include weaponizing the supply of oil...success may depend more on Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman than first thought.

The Hazards Of Investing In Oil: Part 3

When the Russian army left behind their raping and pillaging communities around Kyiv, but continued the complete demolition of cities like Mariupol, and the selected bombing of theaters (600 dead including children), and shelling of hospitals and railway stations, there was a biblical cry of anger that rose up from European countries in an orbit around Ukraine. 

EU Bans Russian Oil - Sort Of - And What That Will Achieve.

Benchmark more than doubles from past decade’s average as exports grow and producers hold back

US natural gas prices surge as Europe turns away from Russian energy

Fossil fuel interest groups are telling New Mexicans: let us keep drilling or the state’s education system will collapse. The oil and gas industry wants to play a word-and-picture association game with you. Think of four images: a brightly-colored backpack stuffed with pencils, a smiling teacher with a tablet tucked under her arm, a pair of glasses resting on a stack of pastel notebooks, and a gleaming school bus welcoming a young student aboard. 

How the oil and gas industry is trying to hold US public schools hostage

Surging demand after Covid plus supply chain bottlenecks has left power plants short of fuel

India expands coal mining to beat power crunch as heatwave blazes

The oil services sector was hardest hit by the pandemic-induced crash of 2020, which forced many firms – including powerhouse Weatherford – into bankruptcy.

Oil Services Industry Entering New Boom Time Thanks To Tight Market

As of January 2021, the United States had almost 200 gigawatts (GW) of electric generating capacity that could functionally switch fuels, or about 18% of the total 1,116 GW of utility-scale electric generating capacity. About two-thirds, or 745 GW, of all utility-scale generating capacity involved technologies that could potentially use multiple energy sources, such as combustion turbines and steam turbines, as opposed to 371 GW of capacity that are single-source technologies such as wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, and nuclear reactors.

About 20% of U.S. electric power generating capacity can operate on multiple fuels

The Saudi leadership has repeatedly rebuffed requests from President Biden and leaders of oil-importing countries to accelerate production increases. But recent price differentials could signal an intent to quietly steer crude into Europe to replace Russian supplies.

Is Saudi Arabia Quietly Trying To Help Europe’s Oil Consumers?

Editorial | Oil & Gas

Co-founder of Cloud Paper, a company leading the drive toward the end of deforestation by providing tree-free paper alternatives.


4 Ways Companies Can Build Their ESG And Invest In Our Planet All Year Round

The billionaire and former mayor of New York City will fund programs in 10 developing countries.

Michael Bloomberg Plans a $242 Million Investment in Clean Energy

In March, President Joe Biden ordered more federal resources directed toward mining  metals and minerals essential for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, including nickel, cobalt, graphite, and lithium.

National Geographic

Mining is a polluting business. Can new tech make it cleaner?

A new trimaran concept from Van Geest Design, called Domus, is modeled on single-story homes built in the times of the Ancient Roman, a RobbReport post reveals.

Interesting Engineering

Ancient Rome's advanced technology has inspired a new solar-powered luxury boat

This study looks at the innovations and strategies of 10 major oil and gas companies around 7 key pillars of the energy transition: eMobility; renewable energy; hydrogen; carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); electricity utilities; energy storage; and bioenergy.

Business Wire

Global Energy Transition Market Opportunities/Analysis Report 2022

Chevron Corp's (CVX.N) Gorgon carbon capture and storage (CCS) project in Australia is working at only half its capacity nearly three years after starting up and the company has no timeframe for delivering on targets it has so far failed to meet, a senior executive said.

Chevron says world's largest carbon capture project has 'a ways to go' to meet goals

Developing sustainable urban policies is seeing a momentum especially in the past years, as cities now have to quickly roll out local strategies to continue their journey into becoming more equitable and resilient in light to the climate crisis and post pandemic.


From Covid19 To The Ukraine Crisis, Cities Leaders Meet To Discuss Sustainable Urban Development

Nigeria’s vice-president says they cannot demand more stringent actions than they will commit to themselves


Yemi Osinbajo on the hypocrisy of rich countries’ climate policies

Scientists say this microbial meat alternative is a protein-rich food that can taste and feel like red meat and be as nutritious.
Replacing a fifth of the beef people eat with fungi-based meat alternatives by 2050 could halve deforestation, a study suggests.

The Ecologist

Eat fungus, save forests

Sceptics say that far from helping save the planet, electric cars are a liberal pipe-dream whose environmental benefits are exaggerated.

Dirty liberal pipe-dream: 3 myths about electric cars

Next week leaders will gather for the first in-person Davos in more than two years and -- despite a backdrop of myriad recent crises including a global pandemic -- the event will focus a large portion of its agenda on sustainability. However, it's clear these crises have transformed how sustainability is perceived -- at Davos and beyond -- with its impact now viewed within the larger spectrum of societal benefit.


 The New Sustainability Paradigm For Tech: Making Measurement More Meaningful

Fashion's environmental impacts are often calculated (and communicated) through Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs). LCAs assess the impact of goods or services, typically from cradle (raw materials) to gate (when they are shipped to consumers); And they are commonly used to determine 'how sustainable' something is. 

Environmental Impact Assessments Could Undermine Sustainable Fashion -- Experts Explain Why.

The Coalition of Action for Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems for all (HDSFS), brings together governments, UN agencies, civil society organizations, academic institutions, and social movements. 

United Nations

‘Coalition of the willing’ to ensure healthy diets from sustainable food systems

Ministers must press ahead with bold biodiversity targets that can unlock much-needed investment for efforts to enhance nature, argues The Wildlife Trusts' Elliot Chapman-Jones
Six months ago this week, the first Environment Bill in England for almost 30 years passed into law. 



Six months since the Environment Act was passed, there's still no sign of nature recovery

Is Elon Musk a climate hero that the climate movement and its allies should embrace, or does his libertarian (or conservative) politics turn him into an object of scorn?



Climate Policy And Partisan Wars: Elon Musk And Twitter

Last week, fishermen in northern Cambodia captured a rare giant freshwater stingray in the Mekong River, a reminder of the unique aquatic ecology that is threatened by a rash of ill-considered hydropower dam developments on the river.

The Diplomat

Cambodian Fishermen Pull Endangered Giant Stingray From Mekong River

Amid unprecedented storm activity, predictions of ocean surge have improved, but inland flooding — now the deadliest hazard — is a focus of forecasters


The Washington Post

For better forecasts, hurricane hunters probe deep into storms

Long-awaited publication of government's environmental principles for policymaking triggers warnings from NGOs that green protections could now be watered down


Business Green

Government accused of seeking 'US-style' system of environmental regulation

The birds were reintroduced in 2019 but recently there has been a spike in the number killed by poison – is it misfortune or foul play?



The Telegraph

The mysterious deaths of the white-tailed eagles

From a transcript to an accounting report to a listed company's annual report, reporting is a well-regarded tool for summarizing and illustrating key performance indicators (KPI).

Why Organizations Need Standardized Sustainability Reporting As A Scientific Tool

Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and similar digitalization solutions are modifying the way the world's most influential companies and industries -- as well as entire cities -- function every day. 

Formidable Human-AI Relations Can Accelerate Sustainability Efforts

Renting isn’t just for cars and movies; check out a formal dress for prom night, some power tools for your big home renovation, or camping gear for your next vacation. Cut down on expensive purchases and waste by renting instead of buying.

EcoWatch

10 Things You Can Rent Instead of Buying

For one Māori community, a board game sparked serious discussions about flood risk.


Grist

Using a board game to plan for a changing planet

Could a pioneering investment initiative from an alliance of Silicon Valley stalwarts catalyse the levels of carbon removal needed to limit global warming to 1.5°C?

The birth of the carbon removal market

Prestige fragrance brands are leveraging the value of their ongoing sustainability initiatives to appeal to a younger, Gen Z consumer.

Prestige Fragrance Houses Draw On Sustainability Initiatives To Appeal To Gen Z Consumers

Insect numbers have plunged by half in some parts of the world due to climate change and intensive agriculture, a study has found.

The combined pressures of global heating and farming are driving a "substantial decline" of insects across the globe, according to UK researchers

mahepa

Climate change and farming driving insect decline

Fatalities from ocean surge have decreased, but inland flooding — now the deadliest hazard — is a focus of forecasters


Hurricane forecasts are improving, but there is ground to gain

Governments meet in Copenhagen to try and recapture lost momentum six months after the COP26 climate summit.



Climate goes missing in action in Russia’s war

It will be difficult to boost agricultural production without addressing the dwindling workforce in the sector.



Japan’s Food Self-Sufficiency Debate Overlooks the Core Problem

Amid an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, climate experts say November talks must act on plans to limit global heating

‘This is about survival’: will Cop27 bring action on Glasgow climate pact?

When it comes to plastic, films and flexible formats — like the air pillows that protect goods shipped by e-commerce retailers, heavy-duty bags that hold dog food or soil, and the wrap that might hug your vegetables — are the bane of a recycler’s existence. It’s easy to understand why: This type of single-use plastic is more challenging than others to recycle.



GreenBiz

General Mills, Schwan’s and Target want to fix the flexible packaging problem

The partnership of Chris Martin’s band with biofuel producer Neste has raised eyebrows about the green credentials of their new tour. Coldplay had a head full of dreams this week when they announced the details of a low-emission world tour driven by concerns for sustainability.

Dear Coldplay, listen to Massive Attack and save yourselves from greenwashing

The petroleum company is under investigation for misleading the public while exacerbating the global plastic pollution crisis. Accused of misleading the public for decades on the promise of plastic recycling, oil and chemical companies are pushing a new idea: “advanced recycling”. 

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