Covid-19 recovery planning a chance to end oil and gas dependency
OPINION: You might be surprised to learn the petroleum industry agrees with the Government and climate scientists that we must cut our greenhouse gas emissions and transition to a low carbon economy. The only argument is over how fast we should transition and how much (if at all) we should continue to rely on oil and gas. The petroleum industry, represented by the Petroleum Exploration and Production of New Zealand (PEPANZ), insists the transition will take decades. We have to be realistic, they say. READ MORE: * Climate crisis means ending government fossil fuel support * COP25: Disappointment over marathon UN climate talks * Govt 10 year draft oil and gas strategy has support of industry Our economy and way of life are dependent on fossil fuels (which given the climate crisis is a problem). Renewables are not reliable or affordable enough to take their place (which is incorrect). The National Party evidently agrees with PEPANZ. Theyre promising to overturn the Governments offshore exploration ban and promote more oil and gas development if elected. To be clear, this is not the normal kind of promotional campaign that industry trade associations carry out all the time. Like Big Tobacco, fossil fuel companies have known for decades about the harm their operations and products are doing to the climate and peoples health. Theyre desperate to continue business as usual for as long as possible to reap as much profit as possible. A recent study I led in conjunction with the Fossil Fuels Aotearoa Research Network (FFARN) documented how PEPANZ has collaborated with a number of conservative politicians, self-interested business people and independent consultants in a predatory delay campaign to bolster the industrys flagging public image, gain a seat at governments climate transition table, and prolong dependency on gas and oil for decades. The Labour-led Government has so far refused to confront this predatory delay campaign head-on. Instead, it has avoided further supply-side measures besides the exploration ban claiming they could be economically and socially disruptive. The Minister of Energy and Resources has even adopted the petroleum industrys now discredited mantra about clean gas being a transition fuel. Its been a politically expedient stance with an election looming. But the public support the Government has garnered from their handling of the pandemic and the need for recovery planning have provided the opportunity to consider how we might end our reliance on fossil fuels. Theres been a lot of talk lately about a green recovery plan. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that accelerating investment in renewable energy could generate $NZ165 trillion in economic gains worldwide by 2050. PEPANZ knows this is a critical juncture for the industry. It has already begun the push-back, focusing its lobbying and propaganda campaign on petroleums essential role in economic recovery and supporting health services. But the world is awash with oil and gas, and climate scientists say three-quarters of known reserves must remain unburned if were to cut emissions and stay under 2 degress Celcius warming. Were running out of time. At COP25 in Madrid, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on governments to urgently end petroleum exploration and extraction. The problem is that most countries have taken a largely demand-side approach to cutting emissions, resulting in an imbalanced climate change policy portfolio that is not achieving the needed reductions quickly enough. The study I referred to earlier, called The Predatory Delay Diaries, suggests additional supply-side measures our government could adopt if it chooses to heed the Secretary Generals call. The Minister of Energy and Resources could for example stop granting exploration permit extensions, end onshore exploration, dispense with remaining industry supports, and revise the 10-year Resource Strategy to rapidly phase out fossil fuel extraction. Surely now is the time for New Zealand to fast track the transformation of our energy and transport systems, and end our dependency on fossil fuels. * Terrence Loomis is an economic anthropologist specialising in the political economy of the oil and gas industry based in Blenheim. He was Professor of Development Studies at Waikato University before becoming a senior policy advisor under successive National and Labour governments. Dr Loomis will be discussing his research on the petroleum industrys predatory delay campaign at Nelsons Climate Hub from 7pm on 19 August 2020.