Cheap oil and climate change spell opportunity for energy giants
"They can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" sounds like an admiring remark from your grandma. But when it comes to facing up to something ostensibly bad and turning it into something precious, there is no one better equipped than the complex of Canadian companies and researchers currently suffering from plunging oil prices.
After another brief revival, there are new signs that oil will not bounce back any time soon. There also are signs that the world may be on the verge of actually taking climate change warnings seriously.
But if it plays its cards right, the Canadian energy complex is ideally placed to profit from the move from carbon fuels to high-tech, low-carbon energy. It should publicly celebrate the fact.
Until now, a large contingent within the North American oil industry has been playing a defensive game, dismissing the science of climate change and pressing for lax carbon laws. For a decade, they pressed for more and more oil development.
As a long term business strategy, that has turned out to be a dud
The oil glut persists. Profits are falling. The International Energy Association says oil prices may not start to rise till after 2020. New York investors are betting that oil will remain below $49 US until November next year. Others are betting oil will go much lower yet.
It may be that our perception in Canada has been distorted by the recent change of government, but there is a feeling that the global mood on climate change is shifting. If industrialized countries really face up to the reality that places such as the naval base at Norfolk, Virginia and large parts of the Netherlands are in danger of flooding, they may take action.
A significant tax on carbon will not only continue to hold down the price of carbon-based fuels, but it will boost the value of investments in non-carbon alternatives.
Unless some radical new science suddenly disproves the majority view on human-caused climate change, non-carbon energy is the future. And there is no one in the world with more of the skills and the smarts to profit from a low-carbon future than the Canadian oil and gas industry, largely centred in Alberta.
To many of its critics, oilpatch investment in wind and solar has seemed like greenwashing. That's when a known polluter uses advertising and public relations to make itself look clean and green.
But there is no question the oil industry has been investing in green energy. Iogen, an Ottawa-based leader in using enzymes to turn wood scraps and straw into alcohol fuel, was supported for years by Canadian taxpayers. It was bought by Shell and its operations moved to Brazil.
...more...
Cheap oil and climate change spell opportunity for energy giants: Don Pittis - Business - CBC News
"They can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" sounds like an admiring remark from your grandma. But when it comes to facing up to something ostensibly bad and turning it into something precious, there is no one better equipped than the complex of Canadian companies and researchers currently suffering from plunging oil prices.
After another brief revival, there are new signs that oil will not bounce back any time soon. There also are signs that the world may be on the verge of actually taking climate change warnings seriously.
But if it plays its cards right, the Canadian energy complex is ideally placed to profit from the move from carbon fuels to high-tech, low-carbon energy. It should publicly celebrate the fact.
Until now, a large contingent within the North American oil industry has been playing a defensive game, dismissing the science of climate change and pressing for lax carbon laws. For a decade, they pressed for more and more oil development.
As a long term business strategy, that has turned out to be a dud
The oil glut persists. Profits are falling. The International Energy Association says oil prices may not start to rise till after 2020. New York investors are betting that oil will remain below $49 US until November next year. Others are betting oil will go much lower yet.
It may be that our perception in Canada has been distorted by the recent change of government, but there is a feeling that the global mood on climate change is shifting. If industrialized countries really face up to the reality that places such as the naval base at Norfolk, Virginia and large parts of the Netherlands are in danger of flooding, they may take action.
A significant tax on carbon will not only continue to hold down the price of carbon-based fuels, but it will boost the value of investments in non-carbon alternatives.
Unless some radical new science suddenly disproves the majority view on human-caused climate change, non-carbon energy is the future. And there is no one in the world with more of the skills and the smarts to profit from a low-carbon future than the Canadian oil and gas industry, largely centred in Alberta.
To many of its critics, oilpatch investment in wind and solar has seemed like greenwashing. That's when a known polluter uses advertising and public relations to make itself look clean and green.
But there is no question the oil industry has been investing in green energy. Iogen, an Ottawa-based leader in using enzymes to turn wood scraps and straw into alcohol fuel, was supported for years by Canadian taxpayers. It was bought by Shell and its operations moved to Brazil.
...more...
Cheap oil and climate change spell opportunity for energy giants: Don Pittis - Business - CBC News
