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Climate goals: wait for a stricter agreement or take responsibility? Every time there is research done on CO2 pollution by a prominent university or leading independent organization, the conclusion is the same: the shipping industry is on its way to become the most polluting industry there is. Some scientists have projected that maritime shipping could account for 17% of total annual CO2 emissions by 2050. And yet, maritime shipping is one of the few sectors left out of the Paris Agreement (PA) on climate change which states that in 2030 greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced by at least 40% compared to 1990. Mainly because it is deemed too complex.
The European Union is in the process of including shipping in its emissions trading system, but for now it’s pretty much up to the industry itself to take action. And then there is the offshore component of the maritime industry, with their own challenges and goals. Carbon emissions Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a nonprofit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. They estimate that the oil and gas industry and its products account for 50% of global carbon emissions. At the same time, there’s a ‘green side’ to the offshore industry, i.e. the offshore
wind and solar energy. The transition towards these renewables form a critical part of meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the rise of global average temperatures to well below two degrees Celsius. Decommissioning offshore installations - the safe removal of property and restoration of the environment – is another more or less green step in the right direction. Although both the oil and gas industry and the wind and solar energy industry come together under the ‘umbrella’ offshore, they’re two very different worlds. And yet, they were brought together by the Paris agreement and the impact of COVID-19.
Offshore wind With COVID-19 turning the world’s economy on its head and oil prices not as high as they used to and more volatile than ever, the oil and gas industry is accelerating its efforts to adapt and evolve. Many companies are exploring partnerships with the offshore wind sector, seeing an opportunity for both hydrocarbon extraction and turbine emplacement to coexist across a wide range of sites. Some of these oil and gas companies want to invest in this sector as a subsidiary to their main business as a way to use existing rig infrastructure for power generation. Others want to power the hydrocarbon extraction processes. And there is of course the need for oil and gas companies to build
