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Showing posts with label petroleum. Show all posts

Cities, Investors and a Prince Support Fossil Fuel Divestment

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What do Prince Charles, Investors and the City of Oslo all have in common? They are all recent advocates of divestment from fossil fuels. What started as a grass roots movement has blossomed into a global effort to call for a future with integrity and common sense. Fueled by the divestment movement, the transition to a more sustainable economy is underway.

Fossil fuel divestment is the fastest growing movement in the world with a 50 fold increase in 2014. If we are to reign in emissions we must radically reduce our use of fossil fuels. This is particularly important as we head down the final stretch towards COP21.

The growth of the divestment movement is increasingly mainstream with a total of more than $2.6 trillion having been divested so far. While this will not bankrupt the fossil fuel industry it does send stigmatize the industry and it sends an important message that is resonating around the world.

There are those who say that fossil fuel divestment is little more than a symbolic act. However, a University of Oxford report, authored by the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, disagrees saying, “The outcome of the stigmatisation process, which the fossil fuel divestment campaign has now triggered...poses the most far-reaching threat to fossil fuel companies and the vast energy value chain. Any direct impacts pale in comparison.”

After Paris began restricting cars in the city, Oslo has proposed a ban on private combustion engine vehicles in the city center after 2019. Commuters will have access to more bike lanes and subsidies for the purchase of electric bikes. Even more significantly the newly elected city government has proposed plans to remove fossil fuels from its $9 billion pension fund.

Cities like Seattle pledged to divest a couple of years ago, this move was followed by similar resolutions along the west coast including Portland, Oregon, San Francisco, Santa Monica. Other cities in the US, Europe and Australia have also followed suit. In March London passed a vote calling on the mayor to divest. If it proceeds as planned, Olso would be the first capital city to pledge to divest. These moves are part of the city's effort to adopt a comprehensive plan to slash GHG emissions in half compared to 1990 levels by 2020, and reduce automobile traffic by 20 percent by 2019 and 30 percent by 2030.

There is a powerful logic driving the divestment movement. Buoyed by a powerful moral argument, faith groups are also divesting in droves. A wide range of groups are also divesting from fossil fuels for both moral and practical reasons. These groups range from  educational institutions (including Stanford University’s $19 billion divestment) to pension funds (including $850 billion Norwegian sovereign wealth fund).

Investors are increasingly concerned about fossil fuels. They are aware of the volatility and risks associated with such investments. To stay within our carbon budget and to keep the world from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius we will need to keep the vast majority of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground ultimately stranding these assets and rendering them worthless. This puts huge amounts of oil, gas and coal investments in jeopardy.

A wide range of organizations have expressed concern about the long term value of fossil fuels including the Bank of England, HSBC, the International Energy Agency and the World Bank.  Businesses, utilities and investors are already being impacted by the divestment movement. 

Among those who explore the risks associated with fossil fuels is Hyewon Kong, M.Sc., CFA. She is an Associate Portfolio Manager at AGF Investments Inc., she believes that investors have a role to play in fighting climate change and building a low-carbon, clean economy.

Kong recently moderated a panel discussion in Toronto called The Business of Climate Change, a conversation about the threats posed by climate change and the economic opportunities offered by the global transformation to a low-carbon economy. At this discussion investment bankers, portfolio managers, financial advisors and insurance brokers focused on the issue of climate change.

Investors are often criticized for failing to integrate morality into their buying decisions, however, they are quick to recognize threats to the value of their investments. The economic impacts of unchecked climate change would have economy wide repercussions from basics like food and water, to global infrastructure and the health of humans and ecosystems.

"In our view, the growth of the fossil fuel divestment campaign has been encouraging because it has helped focus the investment community’s attention on the risks, and opportunities, of climate change," Kong explains.

Kong goes on to suggest alternatives to investing in fossil fuels:

"By focusing on the long term, tracking multiple environmental objectives and aligning with key sustainability themes, investors can focus on allocating capital to companies that are offering sustainability solutions...At AGF, our solutions-based approach involves giving investors the opportunity to participate in innovations that are disrupting carbon-intensive industries, such as low-carbon energy and power technologies, waste management and pollution control, waste and waste water solutions, and environmental health and safety."

Prince Charles, recently told some of the world's leading investors that it is vital that finance markets let politicians know that we are serious about acting on climate change. Siting the risks to the financial community, the heir to the British throne said it is important to invest in low carbon projects that will help to keep the world from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. He further stated that such investments need not hurt returns. “All investors must decide whether they are future-takers or future-makers,” he said.

Fossil fuels have immense financial power and influence and they are still the driving force behind the global economy and investment. However, the divestment movement is helping to power a global shift away from fossil fuels and towards low carbon energy sources. Increasingly the fossil fuel industry is seen as the pariah that it is and divestment has played a salient role in helping to bring this awareness into the popular consciousness.

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The Cost of Oil: BP Reaches $20 Billion Settlement with the Federal Government

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In the largest single entity settlement in the Department of Justice's history, BP will have to pay $20.8 for its role in the infamous Gulf of Mexico oil spill in April, 2010. Since the disastrous explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform BP has been engaged in protracted negotiations with the federal government. Now the Department of Justice have finalized the settlement with BP. The settlement comes after years of legal wrangling. In July, the Supreme Court denied the company’s appeal to block benefits for those not directly affected by the spill.

As reported by The Hill, the fine breaks down as follows
  • $5.5 billion to settle civil claims under the Clean Water Act
  • $7.1 billion for environmental restoration work
  • $700 million to compensate for still-unknown damages to natural resources in the region
  • $4.9 million to Gulf Coast states affected by the spill
  • $1 billion to local communities. Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas will split that portion of the settlement.
  • BP has also already spent more than $1 billion on environmental restoration work in the area
Almost $9 billion of the settlement money will be used by for a Gulf restoration fund. This money will be invested in coastal and habitat repair, water quality improvement in wetlands and recreational projects in the region.

Biologists have observed that the 3.19 million gallons of oil that pored into the Gulf is having long term effects that continue to this day.

"This is still the largest environmental penalty under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act, ever," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said. "BP is receiving the punishment it deserves while also providing critical compensation to the damage to the Gulf region."

The punishment will serve as a deterrent that will hopefully prevent similar disasters in the future.

"The steep penalty should inspire BP and its peers to take every measure necessary to ensure that nothing like this can ever happen again," Lynch said.

The $20.8 billion fine is separate from the class-action settlement with businesses and individuals affected by the spill.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy noted that the settlement includes $700 million to address any potential environmental damages that officials have yet to discover.

"Justice is not about dumping a pile of money and walking away," McCarthy said. "It is about investing in sustainable ways that empower and strengthen the Gulf communities over the long term."

The settlement still needs to be approved by a federal court.

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Renewable Energy Can Replace Fossil Fuels

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This article from 2013 shows that even two years ago there was already strong evidence to support the contention that renewable energy can replace fossil fuels. ________________________________________

As the primary driver of climate change we need to replace fossil fuels with clean energy. If we are to succeed in reducing emissions from petrochemicals we will need to expedite the expansion of renewable energy.

Contrary to the views expressed by the dirty energy lobby, it is entirely realistic to believe that renewable energy can replace fossil fuels. As explained by the Worldwatch Institute, State of the World 2013, we need to do so before its too late. Renewables have shown tremendous growth and with the right support this can be accelerated.

“Renewable technologies broke all growth records in recent years,” said Alexander Ochs, Director of Worldwatch’s Climate and Energy program, and contributing author of State of the World 2013.

“In 2011, new investments in renewables for the first time in modern history topped those in conventional energy technologies with clean energy investments in developing countries now outpacing those in many industrialized countries. These promising trends need to be accelerated, with action on all political levels. Science tells us that global greenhouse gas emissions have to peak well before 2020 if we want to avoid the danger of major climate disruptions.”
Despite the fact that we urgently need to transition away from hydrocarbon based energy systems, there are many who continue to deride renewables as an unstable and unpredictable source of power.  In an effort to debunk the myths about renewable energy being unpredictable, Karl-Friedrich Lenz coined the term “unreliables myth”. He was responding to critics who say that wind and solar only offer intermittent energy (the wind is not always blowing and the sun is not always shining).

Describing wind and solar as unreliable is inaccurate. First, photovoltaic solar and wind can be supplemented with storage capacity that enables them to provide uninterrupted power. A good example of a technique for creating storage capacity involves generating hydrogen with renewable energy which can be stored and used at will. Once you are producing large enough volumes of energy you can stockpile it and avoid concerns about intermittency.

Second, even if part of the energy grid uses intermittent renewable energy without storage, as long as there are other energy sources on the grid (ie concentrated solar power, hydro, and geothermal etc) there will be no interruption of supply. Even if there is a shortage, this can be managed by smart grids, or as a worst case scenario, energy can occasionally be supplemented by hydrocarbons.

Despite these solutions, many continue to be doubtful about the possibility of an entirely renewable electrical grid. The old energy industry would like to have us believe that it will take at least 50 years before we can wean ourselves off of fossil fuels.

However,  this is refuted by the 50 nations that are currently meeting most of their energy needs with renewables. A total of 11 countries are supplying all of their power demands with renewables and some of these have become net exporters of clean energy.

Paraguay is one of those countries that gets all of its electricity from renewable energy while at the same time exporting 90 percent of its production. Renewable energy is not only clean it also provides good jobs.  Albania, which produces all of its electricity with renewables, is looking to create 100,000 green jobs by 2020.

The following list of countries get 60 percent or more of their electricity from renewable energy. It was compiled from data at the CO2 scorecard site. All the data is derived from this source with the exception of nations designated with an asterix, which are sourced from Wikipedia.
  • Afganistan (62%) *
  • Albania (100%).
  • Angola (96%)
  • Austria (73%)
  • Belize (90%)
  • Bhutan (99%)
  • Brazil (88%)
  • Burma/Myanmar (62%)
  • Burundi (100%)
  • Cameroon (77%)
  • Canada (61%)
  • Central African Republic (81%)
  • Columbia (85%)
  • Congo (82%)
  • Costa Rica (93%)
  • DPR Korea (61%)
  • DR Congo (99%)
  • Ecuador (64%)
  • El Salvador (62%)
  • Ethiopia (88%)
  • Fiji (68%)
  • Georgia (85%)
  • Ghana (75%)
  • Guatemala (61%)
  • Iberia (70%)
  • Iceland (100%)
  • Kenya (62%)
  • Kyrgyzstan (90%)
  • Lao PDR (92%)
  • Latvia (62%)
  • Lesotho (100%)
  • Madagascar (66%)
  • Malawi (86%)
  • Mozambique (99%)
  • Namibia (70%)
  • Nepal (99%)
  • New Zealand (72%)
  • North Korea (61%)*
  • Norway (97.11% )
  • Panama (63%)*
  • Paraguay (100%)
  • Peru (60% )
  • Portugal (70%)
  • Sweden (60%)
  • Tajikistan (98%)
  • Tanzania (61%)
  • Uganda (74%)
  • Uruguay (61%)
  • Venezuela (69%)
  • Zambia (99%)
As most of these figures date back to 2008, the percentage has in many cases increased over the last five years. It should also be noted that most of these states get their energy from hydroelectric projects, which although commonly considered a renewable energy, comes with a number of environmental concerns. Further, there are many small developing nations in this list which have limited power requirements. Nonetheless, this list demonstrates the viability of renewable energy, albeit on a small scale.

Developing countries are not the only ones ramping up renewable energy. In terms of developed nations, Germany is a recent standout for producing almost half of its energy needs from solar.  In the U.S., almost half of all new generating capacity installed in 2012 was renewable, and in Q1 2013, 49 percent of all new US electricity generation capacity came form solar.

A number of independent researchers have demonstrated that renewable energy sources can replace fossil fuels and provide for all of the world’s energy needs. This research has also debunked claims that the emissions attributable to intermittent power production from renewable sources offer only nominal reductions in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil fuels.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has conducted research which demonstrates that green energy can affordably replace fossil fuels as the world’s primary source of electricity within 20 years.

The NOAA’s findings add to other studies that also support the feasibility of replacing fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy. In 2011, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report which indicates that nearly 80 percent of global energy demand could be met by renewable sources of energy by 2050. Research published in 2009 by Mark Z. Jacobson and Mark A. Delucchi also supports the contention that renewable energy can replace fossil fuels, as does research published in 2010 by Robert Howarth.

Sandy MacDonald, a director at NOAA said that wind and solar could supply 70 percent of electricity demand in the lower 48 states as soon as 2030.

Together the evidence supports the notion that we can meet our energy needs with renewable sources of energy. This is not just an urgent necessity, it is also a technologically and economically viable solution to the looming threats we face.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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BP's Legal Wrangling Five Years After the Gulf Oil Spill

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BP has a lengthy criminal rap sheet that culminated in the Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite BP's long criminal history they are anything but repentant. Rather than accept the penalties levied against them for the 2010 spill they are doing everything in their power to minimize their legal and financial responsibilities.

US District Court judge Carl Barbier found that BP was guilty of "gross negligence" and "willful misconduct." Although the trial concluded earlier this year, the final settlement has yet to be announced.

All throughout the legal proceedings BP has waged a massive and misleading advertising campaign which gives the impression that all is well in the Gulf. However this contention is squarely refuted by the science.

The statutory penalty in the Clean Water Act for BP's actions its actions is $4,300 per gallon, or over $18 billion. Thus far BP has agreed to pay $4.5 billion in related criminal and civil penalties and faces additional fines, as well as to thousands of claims by individuals and companies. It’s also agreed to resolve most private-party lawsuits as part of an uncapped settlement BP values at about $9.2 billion

Whatever the fines, they will be a fraction of the actual costs to the economy, wildlife and the Gulf ecosystem.

After months of negotiations the EPA gave BP the right to bid for US contracts and oil leases on March 2014. However, BPs misinformation and refusal to take full responsibility for the Gulf oil spill casts aspersions on the EPA decision.

As reported by Bloomberg, the EPA imposed the contract suspension in 2012 after determining that BP hadn’t fully corrected deficiencies that led to the Gulf oil spill. BP sued the EPA in federal court in Houston seeking to lift the suspension and then dropped the lawsuit after a deal was reached.

As explained by Tyson Slocum, director of the Public Citizen’s Energy Program in Washington, the EPA decision was premature. This "lets a corporate felon and repeat offender off the hook for its crimes against people and the environment," Slocum said in a statement. BP "was on criminal probation at the time of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and it has failed to prove that it is a responsible contractor."

The government suspended BP’s rights to seek federal contracts after the company pleaded guilty to 11 counts of felony seaman’s manslaughter, two pollution violations and one count of lying to Congress in connection with the spill.

In addition to the spill, the EPA cited the 2005 explosion at a BP-owned Texas City, Texas, refinery and two oil spills in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, as grounds for the 2012 debarment. At the time of the April 2010 spill, BP was on probation after pleading guilty in 2007 to a felony air-pollution charge and paying a $50 million fine for the explosion in Texas City that killed 15 workers.

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The Toll on Wildlife from the Gulf of Mexico BP Oil Spill

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A number of wildlife species have been devastated by the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This includes seabirds, turtles, fish, and vegetation.

Between 800,000 and one million sea birds have died from oil exposure in the Gulf of Mexico since 2010. Entire seabird populations have suffered from major die-offs. Oil related deaths include 12 percent of brown pelicans (over 200,000 have been exposed to oil),  almost one third (32 percent) of northern gulf laughing birds and 13 percent of royal turns. A total of 20,000 Kemp's turtles and 60,000 Ridley turtles died in 2010.

Five times the normal rate of lung disease have been observed in bottlenose dolphins and a total of 1000 dolphins have been found stranded between 2010 and 2015.

Under the water a number of species were impacted including oysters and sea grass which provide food and habitat for a wide range of aquatic life. There has been an 85 percent reduction in the diversity of northern gulf seaweed habitats. Species that depend on this seaweed include shrimps, lobsters and crabs.

In the two years following the disaster there was a 50 percent drop in oysters and 10 square miles of sea grass were adversely impacted.

The importance of the gulf oil spill on fish species is important because two thirds of fish species that live in the area of the spill are found only in the gulf. As few as 50 Brydes whales are thought to be left in the gulf and the calves of this species are particularly vulnerable to the dispersant used to break-up the spill. Dispersants are also thought to have adverse health impacts on Sperm Whales and other species

To this day fish species continue to suffer from disruptions to their growth, development and reproduction. Some fish species were found to be covered in lesions due to the spill.

Heart defects and other morphological abnormalities have been found Atlantic bluefin, yellowfin tunas and an amberjack species. Swordfish, marlin, mackerel and other Gulf species may also suffer from similar impacts.

It will take years if not decades to understand the full scope on the impacts.

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Research Summary of BP's Gulf Oil Spill

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A number of studies indicate that the environmental impacts of the BP's 2010 oil spill in the gulf is anything but over. Huge amounts of oil are still on the ocean floor and this is finding its way into the food chain. Other studies show fish that spawn in these oil contaminated waters in the Gulf are suffering from a wide range of lethal deformities.

A study published earlier this year suggested that the oil that lingers in the Gulf of Mexico continues to pose a threat to local ecosystems. The study by Florida researchers indicates that About 3,243 sq miles (8,400 square km) of the sea floor is still covered with oil from the disaster.

"This is going to affect the Gulf for years to come," Jeff Chanton, the study's lead researcher and a professor of chemical oceanography at Florida State University, said in a statement.

This study corroborates an October study which found that as much as 30 percent of the spilled oil remains on the ocean floor.

"Fish will likely ingest contaminants because worms ingest the sediment, and fish eat the worms. It's a conduit for contamination into the food web."

CBS news quoted the study’s lead researcher, Jeff Chanton, as saying: ‘This is going to affect the Gulf for years to come.

‘Fish will likely ingest contaminants because worms ingest the sediment, and fish eat the worms. It's a conduit for contamination into the food web.’

Dolphins and turtles in the Gulf are dying in record numbers. Bottlenose dolphins have been dying at more than twice the normal rate over the past five years and the nesting habits of the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle changed dramatically around the time of the spill. Commercial fisheries have also seen a reduced yield.

The BP oil spill was an unprecedented disaster and after five years 2 percent of samples of water and seafloor sediment continue to exceed federal toxicity levels. According to research from the Associated Press the overall health of the Gulf of Mexico has declined 11 percent since April 2010.

The research suggests that lingering impacts of the BP oil spill in the Gulf are being felt by tuna and other species that spawned in oiled offshore habitats in the northern Gulf of Mexico. A Stanford NOAA study revealed that the spill is causing severe defects in the developing hearts of Atlantic bluefin, yellowfin tunas and an amberjack species. The study shows that crude oil exposures is slowing the heartbeat or causing an uncoordinated rhythm in these fish, which can ultimately lead to heart failure.

"We know from the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Prince William Sound that recently spawned fish are especially vulnerable to crude oil toxicity," said Nat Scholz, Ph.D., leader of the ecotoxicology program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. “"That spill taught us to pay close attention to the formation and function of the heart."

"This fits the pattern," said Dr. John Incardona, NOAA research toxicologist and the study’s lead author. "The tunas and the amberjack exposed to Deepwater Horizon crude oil were impacted in much the same way that herring were deformed by the Alaska North Slope crude oil spilled in Prince William Sound during the Exxon Valdez accident."

"The timing and location of the spill raised immediate concerns for bluefin tuna," said Barbara Block, Ph.D., a study coauthor and professor of biology at Stanford University. "This spill occurred in prime bluefin spawning habitats, and the new evidence indicates a compromising effect of oil on the physiology and morphology of bluefin embryos and larvae."

The culprit in the heart defect appears to be oil-derived polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs can persist for many years in marine habitats and cause a variety of adverse environmental effects. Other observed morphological abnormalities on oil-exposed larva were also revealed in the study. This includes poor growth of fins and eyes.

"We now have a better understanding why crude oil is toxic, and it doesn’t bode well for bluefin or yellowfin embryos floating in oiled habitats.” said Block. “At the level of a single heart muscle cell, we’ve found that petroleum acts like a pharmacological drug by blocking key processes that are critical for cardiac cell excitability."

The authors further suggest that other species like cardiac-related impacts on swordfish, marlin, mackerel and other Gulf species may also be impacted cardiac abnormalities if they spawned in proximity to oil.

Experts say it could take "decades" for the ecosystem to recover.

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The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf Five Years Later

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Exactly five years ago (April 20, 2010), BP's Deepwater Horizon oil well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 people and injuring 17 more. The explosion unleashed one of the worst environmental disasters in human history. For 87 days (April 20 and July 15, 2010) the oil spewed from the well and by the time it was finally contained at least 3.2 million barrels (134 million gallons) of crude oil had contaminated the Gulf of Mexico and 1,100 miles of coastline.

The worst marine disaster ever damaged bird sanctuaries, marine and wildlife habitats. It also soiled beaches, killed wildlife and devastated local economies. The ecologically vital marsh lands of the gulf coast have not recovered and wildlife is still suffering.

The Gulf may look clean but it is not. Even after a five year $28 billion clean-up operation the repercussions from the spill continue to this day. While much of the oil has evaporated or dissolved, up to 10 million gallons of oil remain on the sea floor. About 3,243 sq miles of the sea floor is still covered with oil from the disaster. Oil can also be found in marshes along the coast and deposits still wash up on shore.

The unprecedented spill took place 5000 feet below the surface of the ocean, 40 miles off the Louisiana coast. It had immediate economic impacts on the fishing industry and tourism. It also took a devastating toll on wildlife. Untold thousands of birds, turtles fish and shrimp were killed in the aftermath and a range of species are being impacted to this day. Dolphins and turtles are dying in record numbers and fisheries are still being affected.

The head of the NOAA during the spill Jane Lubchenco aptly summarized events when she said, "The spill was — and continues to be — a disaster. The bottom line is that oil is nasty stuff. Yes, the Gulf is resilient, but it was hit pretty darn hard."

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BP Issues Climate Warning and Calls for Carbon Pricing

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One of the world's largest oil companies has stated that we have to price carbon to curtail carbon emissions.

The science is clear and there have been a vast number of warnings coming from a wide variety of sources including, AGU, IEA, IPCC, PwC, World Bank, and the World Meteorological Organization stating that our current trajectory is catastrophic. Now even those responsible for the problem are coming forward with warnings of their own.

In a February 2015 report titled, "Energy Outlook 2035," BP says that to keep carbon dioxide emissions within upper threshold limits the world must take coordinated action. 

BP's warning foreshadows demands that will be made for global emissions reductions at the forthcoming COP 21 climate talks at the end of the year in Paris. The UN and many other scientific bodies have repeatedly said that we must keep global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times to avert the worst impacts of climate change.

Many people think that the only way we can curtail climate change is through some forms of carbon pricing scheme and it would appear that BP agrees. BP has warned that atmospheric levels of CO2 from burning fossil fuels are unsustainable in the absence of global pollution regulations. The BP report predicts that CO2 emissions will increase by 1pc per year, or 25pc in total, through to 2035.

"The most likely path for carbon emissions, despite current government policies and intentions, does not appear sustainable. The projections highlight the scale of the challenge facing policy makers at this year’s UN-led discussions in Paris. No single change or policy is likely to be sufficient on its own," said BP chief executive, Bob Dudley. "This underpins the importance of policy-makers taking steps that lead to a global price for carbon, which provides the right incentives for everyone to play their part."

The author of the report, BP’s new chief economist Spencer Dale also acknowledged the volatile nature of oil prices from here on in.

"After three years of high and deceptively steady oil prices, the fall of recent months is a stark reminder that the norm in energy markets is one of continuous change," said Mr Dale.

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After a Failed Cover-up Shell Sub-Contractor Pleads Guilty

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On December 11, Noble Drilling, Shell’s sub-contractor pleaded guilty to eight felony charges relating to environmental and safety violations on board the vessels Noble Discoverer and Kulluk in the Alaskan Arctic in 2012.

In addition to the offenses which include unsafe operating procedures Noble Inc. also tried to cover-up their illegal actions. According to the court ruling, Noble, “actively took steps to conceal its use of illegal [systems]”, and “knowingly made false entries” concealing problems from the authorities. Noble also admitted to illegally discharging bilge water from the Discoverer.

Noble will pay a $12.2m fine and the company has been placed on probation for four years and must upgrade all of its plans to meet safety and environmental protection requirements.

This news comes as Shell prepares to drill in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea next summer.

Shell has scrapped the Kulluk but the replacement called the Polar Pioneer may be worse as it is owned by Transocean, the same company that was behind the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The US Supreme Court recently denied BP's request to reduce its liability for the disaster.

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Supreme Court Gives BP a Lump of Coal for Christmas

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The US Supreme Court has rejected BP's bid to decrease the settlement it agreed to pay to businesses and individuals. British Petroleum (BP) is well known for having produced the biggest offshore oil spill in history.

In 2010 BP's Deepwater Horizon exploded killing 11 people and spewing almost 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. The environmental effects of this spill are being felt to this day.

A study published in October showed how there is a 1,235 square mile ring of coagulated oil residue on the ocean floor.

Another study published in March found that the BP oil spill has caused morphological abnormalities including heart deformities potentially leading to heart failure in several large predatory fish including Atlantic Bluefin tuna, Yellowfin tuna and Amberjacks.

Gulf area business suffered across the board but BP only wants to pay those who can prove that there is a direct link between the oil spill and their losses. On Monday December 8th, the Supreme Court refused to hear BP's argument. So far BP has paid out 2.3 billion of an estimated 9.7 billion to plantiffs. The ruling means that BP will have to pay an additional 7.4 billion to plantiffs.

This is but the latest attempt of BP to shirk its multi-billion dollar responsibility. Just a month earlier BP tried to get the courts to reduce their fines for "gross negligence" under the Clean Water Act from 18 billion to just over 12 billion.

While BP was seeking a multi-billion dollar gift this Christmas, all they got from the courts was a lump of coal.

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Risk Assessment Causes Swedish Pension Fund to Divest from Fossil Fuels

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Based on a comprehensive risk analysis one of Sweden's largest pension funds have decided to divest from fossil fuels. On October 20, 2014, the Second AP Fund announced that it would begin divesting from fossil fuels.

This is but the latest investment fund to divest from fossil fuels in order to mitigate against risks. The Second AP Fund announced that it will divest its holdings in 12 coal and 8 oil-and-gas production companies. This represents a divestment of holdings with a total market value of about SEK 840 million (€91 million or $116 million).

The decision was based on comprehensive risk analysis that included climate impacts. Eva Halvarsson, CEO of the Second AP Fund explained their risk assessment and decision, saying: "Our starting point for this analysis has been to determine the financial risks associated with the energy sector. By not investing in a number of companies, we are reducing our exposure to risk constituted by fossil-fuel based energy. This decision will help to protect the Fund’s long-term return on investment."

The companies analysis uncovered climate related financial risks associated with thermal coal and tar sands oil. As explained in their analysis: "The Fund believes these companies face serious climate-related financial risks and that it is highly likely that these projects may either be stranded or unprofitable."

Olivia Linander, Fossil Free Sweden campaign coordinator explained the announcement as follows:

"Today’s announcement shows the writing is on the wall for the fossil fuel industry. The Second AP fund has taken an important first step in recognising that it’s financially irresponsible to invest money that is meant to provide for people’s futures in the very companies fuelling the climate crisis that threatens this future. All AP Funds need to follow their lead now by phasing out investments in fossil fuels and supporting a just transition to a livable future instead."


danger, cost, expense, exposure, vulnerability, down, exposed, vulnerable, business, economics, economy, price, pay,

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Fossil Free Investment Resources

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There are now a number of firms who are helping investors to move away from fossil fuels. While investing in fossil fuels and associated industries was once the bedrock of a sound investment strategy, there is a growing awareness that these investments are approaching the end of their life cycle.

Investors cannot ignore the overwhelming body of climate science that links the burning of fossil fuels to the economic catastrophe of climate change. Investors are also concerned about a large and growing number of governments, businesses, institutions and people who are demanding that we transition away from fossil fuels.

Governments around the world are also supporting emissions reductions efforts, carbon pricing schemes and support for renewable energy. The burning of fossil fuels is also a health issue which is clearly linked to asthma, coronary heart disease and respiratory disorders. That is why some healthcare professionals are at the forefront of divestment.

However, the strongest argument for fossil free investments is a purely financial one that is supported by a number of respected figures including the former SEC Commissioner Bevis Longstreth. As he explained investing in fossil fuels makes no sense in the context of expected governmental restrictions on carbon, advances in clean alternatives, growing public awareness about the dangers of high carbon fuels, investor actions to curtail high carbon investments and reputational risks.

Investors are beginning to change their focus. Driven by a new appreciation of risk assessment and concerns about investors are now integrating a wealth of additional considerations into their investment choices.

This new approaches increasingly factors sustainability into the value equation calculus. Investors are asking about the impact their investments will have on the environment and on people. They understand that investments that harm people and the planet are risky.

Going fossil free is one of the chief concerns from investors who are worried about three things:

1. carbon bubble 
2. carbon budget 
3. stranded assets and the carbon bubble.

A number of reports have made the case for fossil fuel divestment, warning against exposure to the carbon bubble. When we talk about a carbon bubble we are talking about a situation where the true costs of carbon dioxide in intensifying global warming is not taken into account in a company's stock market valuation. The result is the formation of an economic bubble.

The math driving concerns about the future of fossil fuels is known as a carbon budget. Between 2000 and 2050, the allowable "Carbon Budget" to keep global warming from spiraling out of control (2 degree Celsius of warming) is about 886 gigatons. One third of that amount has already been burned. To stay within our budget, we can burn an additional 565 gigatons by 2050. However, the 200 largest fossil fuel companies, combined with government-owned companies, currently have a total of 2795 gigatons.

This means that we will never be able to extract and burn 80 percent of these reserves if we are to have a hope of keeping global warming within manageable limits. Only 20 percent of the world's total proven fossil fuel reserves can be burned, so those who do not divest will get stung by an inevitable correction that will result in the what as known as stranded assets.

According to Tim Ratcliffe, European divestment co-ordinator at the campaign group 350.org., “fossil fuel companies are currently grossly overvalued. Eighty percent of their oil, coal and gas reserves need to stay underground to limit global warming below 2C, which will turn them into stranded assets.” Ratcliffe added, “This makes these investments a highly risky gamble.”

This makes for an uncertain future for fossil fuels and investors deplore such uncertainty. A recent report described such investments as "Risky Business."

Investing in fossil fuels also makes less sense in the context of a new slate of clean energy investments that are proving to be very lucrative. Impax Asset Management further concludes that even today, fossil fuel free portfolios that include cleaner sources of energy outperform the average portfolio.

In response to these concerns and opportunities there are now a number of firms that help investors go fossil free while at the same time maximizing their returns:


Here’s Gofossilfree.org’s list of financial planners:

Here are some fossil-free mutual funds from Greenamerica.org:

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Video - Growing Momentum for Fossil Fuel Divestment

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Momentum is growing in the movement to divest from fossil fuel companies. On Thursday, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu called for an anti-apartheid-style boycott and disinvestment campaign against the industry for its role in driving climate change. Meanwhile, nearly 100 members of the faculty at Harvard University released an open letter calling on the Ivy League school to sell off its interests in oil, gas and coal companies. "If the Corporation regards divestment as 'political,' then its continued investment is a similarly political act, one that finances present corporate activities and calculates profit from them," wrote the professors. "Slavery was once an investment issue, as were apartheid and the harm caused by smoking." Harvard has the largest university endowment in the country, worth more than $32 billion. We speak to James Anderson, professor of Chemistry and Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. He is one of the signatories to the letter urging Harvard to divest from the fossil fuel industry. He has done groundbreaking work exposing the link between climate change and ozone loss. We also speak to Jamie Henn, co-founder of the climate change-focused organization, 350.org.

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Video - Why You Should Divest from Fossil Fuels

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Why You Should Divest from Fossil Fuels and Invest in Clean Energy

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For both moral and economic reasons fossil fuels are a poor investment while clean energy investing has a bright and lucrative future.

Fossil fuel divestment is one of the fastest growing movements on Earth and it continues to gain momentum. Since the divestment movement was launched three years ago, more than 650 individuals and 180 institutions, including 50 new foundations, which hold over $50bn in total assets, have pledged to divest from fossil fuels. Whether in the form of mutual funds, stocks, hedge funds or bonds, fossil fuels are being abandoned at ever increasing rates.

As explained by the New York Times on Sept. 6, "In the 1980s, it was South Africa. In the 1990s, it was tobacco. Now fossil fuels have become the focus of those who would change the world through the power of investing." This is about more than just divestment, this is a global movement towards a low carbon economy. Mitchell Krauss, of Capital Intelligence Associates, called divestment “the biggest, hottest topic.”

The background for divestment is made by increasing temperatures, rising emissions and growing numbers of extreme weather events. Our current trajectory is unsustainable and fossil fuels represent the most significant causal factor contributing to climate change. In the absence of action, we will surpass irreversible tipping points from which we will not be able to recover. According the the EIA, if we continue with business as usual, we will see temperature increases of 5.3 degrees Centigrade by 2100. This is more than 3 degrees above the internationally accepted 2 degree Celsius upper threshold limit. If we do nothing, oceans will rise between 3 and 6 feet in this century, flooding hundreds of cities around the world.

The good news is that there is still time to reverse this troubling trend and divestment from fossil fuel is a crucial first step. Divestment is not only about taking money out of an industry that causes climate change, it is also about diminishing big oil's political clout.

IPCC AR5

There is a 97 percent consensus among scientists that humans are causing global warming and they know that if we are to have any hope of managing climate change, we must leave the vast majority of the world's fossil fuel reserves in the ground.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), makes it clear that burning fossil fuels at the current rate is incompatible with the kind of emissions reductions needed to curb climate change. To stay within the upper threshold warming limit, we will have to lower global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 40 to 70 percent below 2010 levels by 2050. The report states that we will need to divest at least $30 billion dollars per year from fossil fuels over the coming decades.

Recent Divestment

A Carbon Tracker report titled Unburnable Carbon indicates that 22 cities, 2 counties, 20 religious organizations, and 6 other institutions have committed themselves to divest from fossil fuels. These efforts are being jointed by public pension funds. Since January 2014, more than one hundred campuses, churches, cities, states, hospitals, pension funds, and others in the United States and abroad have divested from fossil fuels. Early this year, 350.org convinced seventeen foundations, controlling nearly $1.8 billion in investments, to commit to pulling their money out of fossil fuels. In the last month alone, a number of major initiatives were launched. One major institutional investor that recently divested is the $860m Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Universities

University students are supporting climate action and divestment in particular. Driven by student demand, universities are divesting and in many cases, they oversee huge endowments. In May of this year, Stanford University announced that it will no longer use any of its $18.7 billion endowment to invest in coal mining companies. Pressure is mounting at Harvard and Yale and other schools to do the same. According to Carbon Tracker, nine colleges and universities have also divested.

Oil industry

The oil industry anticipates that thier profits will be eroded by divestment and declining demand associated with efforts to curtail climate change. In its annual and strategic report for 2013, Royal Dutch Shell said that increasing concern over climate change will lead to new regulations that will hit the company’s production profitability and delay some of its projects.

Drivers

In support of climate science, people are coming together to demand that we transition away from fossil fuels. On a governmental level, divestment is being driven by renewable energy support schemes and emission regulation.

While climate change is commonly understood as an environmental issue, it is first and foremost a health issue. That is why some healthcare professionals are at the forefront of divestment.

In addition to the moral argument, divestment from fossil fuels is being driven on purely financial grounds. Former SEC Commissioner Bevis Longstreth made a convincing financial case for divestment stating that fossil fuels make no sense in the context of expected governmental restrictions on carbon, advances in clean alternatives, growing public awareness about the dangers of high carbon fuels, investor actions to curtail high carbon investments and reputational risks.

Carbon Bubble

Concerns about a carbon bubble are at the core of the financial logic driving divestment. A number of reports have made the case for fossil fuel divestment, warning against exposure to the carbon bubble.

Oil and gas companies continue to invest massive sums of money into sourcing and exploiting new fossil fuel reserves. In 2013, the top 200 oil and gas firms allocated $674 billion in exploration and the removal of new fossil fuel reserves. This is the equivalent of the combined GDPs of the Netherlands and Belgium combined.

Carbon budget

Between 2000 and 2050, the allowable "Carbon Budget" to keep the Earth below 2 degree Celsius of warming is about 886 gigatons. One third of that amount has been burned so far. To stay within our budget, we can burn an additional 565 gigatons by 2050. However, the 200 largest fossil fuel companies, combined with government-owned companies, currently have a total of 2795 gigatons.

Stranded assets

Only 20 percent of the world's total proven fossil fuel reserves can be burned if we are to have a hope of curtailing climate change. To mitigate the risk, investors are acting and will continue to act to divest. Failure to divest prior to an inevitable correction will prove costly.

According to Tim Ratcliffe, European divestment co-ordinator at the campaign group 350.org., “fossil fuel companies are currently grossly overvalued. Eighty percent of their oil, coal and gas reserves need to stay underground to limit global warming below 2C, which will turn them into stranded assets.” Ratcliffe added, “This makes these investments a highly risky gamble.”

Impax Asset Management further concludes that even today, fossil fuel free portfolios that include cleaner sources of energy outperform the average portfolio.

Clean energy

Divesting from fossil fuels is just the first part of a three stage strategy that includes radical energy efficiency. We must also massively invest in renewable forms of energy if we are to succeed in meeting our energy requirements. Money divested from fossil fuels and invested in clean energy will drive down the price of renewable energy.

“Freeing up resources through the divestment allows us to concentrate on the renewables future,” said Richard Woo, chief executive of the Russell Family Foundation, “and to really see the marketplace as a platform for this kind of change.”

Global investment in clean technologies now amounts to about $300 billion a year. According to the IPCC AR5 report, we will need to see an annual investment in low carbon electricity supply of $147 billion a year. According to the International Energy Agency, we will need to reach investments of $1 trillion a year by 2030 in order to stay within the upper threshold limit of 2C of warming.

Difficult road ahead

We still have a long road ahead before we achieve anything close to divestment from all fossil fuels. Governments still subsidize fossil fuels to the tune of 1.9 trillion a year. The big banks continue to invest in fossil fuels and most of the money invested around the world is in some way connected to fossil fuels.

According to Greenpeace, about $800 for each person on the planet is invested into fossil fuel companies through the global capital markets alone. That’s roughly 10 percent of the total capital invested in listed companies. A total of 5.5 trillion dollars is invested into the 200 biggest fossil fuel companies through financial markets.

It will be difficult to unseat these dirty energy behemoths. However, divestment succeeded in putting an end to the apartheid regime in South Africa and Mahatma Gandhi's "passive resistance" managed to get Britain out of India. If a skinny little man in a loin cloth was able to defeat the British Empire, surely the combined energies of millions of people around the world can overcome big oil.

The day of the huge integrated international oil company is drawing to a close. The only question is whether we can substantially reduce our fossil fuel use in time to avert catastrophe. The longer we delay action to foster the low carbon transition, the more expensive addressing climate change will get.

Fossil fuels are a bad investment and their use poses an existential threat to the entire planet. These are powerfully compelling reasons to divest.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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