Wednesday, November 25, 2015 12:12:32 AM
$2 Trillion of stranded fossil fuel assets.......
$2 trillion in planned oil, coal spending not needed by 2025
Companies that misread global demand for fossil fuels could waste up to $220 billion (U.S.) by 2025 on new Canadian projects alone, a study says.
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/11/24/2-trillion-in-planned-oil-coal-spending-not-need-by-2025.html
By: Tyler Hamilton Climate and Economy Reporter, Published on Tue Nov 24 2015
Companies that misread global demand for fossil fuels could waste up to $220 billion (U.S.) by 2025 on new Canadian projects that aren’t needed, according to a report that sees coal and oil taking the biggest hit.
Globally, the London-based Carbon Tracker Initiative sees $2 trillion in newly developed fossil fuel assets at risk of being stranded because the additional energy they supply will no longer be needed or economical in an emissions-constrained economy.
“This is where shareholders should be concerned – if companies are committing to future production which may never generate the returns expected,” the report warns.
The analysis assumes the world will take the necessary actions to limit average global warming to no more than 2 degrees C above pre-industrial levels.
Within that context, rapid deployment of clean energy technologies and increasingly restrictive climate policies, starting with government actions that emerge from the upcoming Paris climate summit, will dramatically reduce demand for fossil fuels.
An example of such actions came Monday, when Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to pass legislation that bans the use of coal for electricity generation. On Tuesday, the province also promised a bigger push toward vehicles that use electricity instead of gasoline.
BlackRock, the world’s largest institutional investment manager, said in its own report last month that investors need to start paying attention. “Climate change risk has arrived as an investment issue.”
The Carbon Tracker report argues that no new coal mines will be needed, though existing coal mines will likely be expanded. Global demand for oil will peak around 2020, it says.
“This means that the oil sector does not need to continue to grow, which is inconsistent with the narrative of many companies,” it states. “The countries with the largest amount of capital expenditures not needed over the next decade are the U.S., Canada, Russia, Mexico and Kazakhstan.”
Canada is second only to the United States with the most to lose, largely because of relatively higher costs of oil sands projects compared to conventional oil fields in the Middle East and U.S. shale oil.
Already, a number of companies have pulled the plugged on oil sands projects as a result of low market prices for oil and lack of pipeline access to markets. The report cites Suncor Energy and Canadian Natural Resources as being most exposed, based on project spending plans over the next decade.
The Alberta government outlined a climate action Sunday that it hopes will improve the province’s odds of staying in the oil game longer. Premier Rachel Notley announced an absolute cap on oil sands emissions and plans to introduce a $20 carbon tax about a year from now that will rise to $30 in 2018.
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