In an earlier post, a video report from the Financial Times showed an emerging clear grasp by the financial press of what is at stake if climate change is unabated.
We’ve now had a tsunami of corporate citizens come forward and express deep concern about climate impacts. As I’ve reported before, even Oil Majors like Shell and BP have gone on record advocating global carbon pricing mechanisms.
But as the video above notes, there is still a disconnect in terms of a continued flow of resources to climate denying politicians.
LONDON, UK, September 7, 2015 (ENS) – Ten of the world’s largest fossil fuel producers support an international deal at this year’s UN climate conference, COP21, in Paris that will limit climate warming to 2 degrees Celsius, according to the nonprofit Carbon Disclosure Project, CDP.
Acting on behalf of investors, CDP asked companies, “Would your organization’s board of directors support an international agreement between governments on climate change, which seeks to limit global temperature rise to under 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels in line with IPCC scenarios such as RCP2.6?”
RCPs, or representative concentration pathways, as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2014, describe four possible climate futures, all of which are considered possible depending on how much greenhouse gases are emitted.
The RCP2.6 pathway assumes sustained net negative human greenhouse gas emissions after the year 2070. Negative emissions means that in total, humans absorb more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than they release.
CDP put this question to 28 of the world’s largest energy firms that together account for 26 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.
Among the 10 energy producers to confirm their support of a global climate deal in Paris are three UK companies: Anglo American, BG Group, and BHP Billiton; as well as Italy’s Eni SpA, Russia’s Gazprom, Spain’s Repsol, Royal Dutch Shell, South Africa’s Sasol, Norway’s Statoil and France’s Total.
Despite widespread understanding that fossil fuel reserves will have to remain untapped if dangerous climate change is to be averted, CDP says that none of the 28 carbon majors queried answered “no” in response to the question.
One issue not discussed: will the economy continue to support the present use of fossil fuels? My guess is that we’re headed for a major financial collapse which will force the reduction of fossil fuel use. Not the best way to solve a problem but it may in the end be nature’s way.
Check out Alan Newman’s CROSSCURRENTS. The stock market bubble appears to be in some trouble.
After learning that Munich Re has been convinced of AGW since the mid-70s, years before a goodly number of reputable climate experts were themselves convinced, and that none of the major reinsurers are helmed by deniers yet unable to convince their corporate cousins, I’ve largely given up hope that we’ll stave off disaster by mitigation.
If you’re not listening to the people who have the most experience with risk management on a large scale, what’s going to change your mind?
We need miracles and soon.