{"id":20450,"date":"2012-03-22T16:24:00","date_gmt":"2012-03-23T00:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/?p=20450"},"modified":"2012-03-22T16:24:00","modified_gmt":"2012-03-23T00:24:00","slug":"why-does-shell-support-californias-climate-change-legislation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.kqed.org\/climatewatch\/2012\/03\/22\/why-does-shell-support-californias-climate-change-legislation\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Shell Oil Supports California’s Climate Change Legislation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shell CEO is pro-AB 32, but stands by taking legal action against environmentalists in Alaska
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"
Shell has partnered with MIT to explore carbon sequestration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Royal Dutch Shell CEO, Peter Voser<\/a> affirmed his company\u2019s commitment to AB 32<\/a>, California\u2019s climate change legislation, and also explained why a carbon trading system is crucial to the development of alternative energy sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are clearly in favor of cap and trade systems,\u201d he said to an audience of Silicon Valley business people and climate experts Wednesday in Burlingame. \u201cWe\u2019d like to have it globally, to level the playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n

This statement from Shell, the global oil and gas company headquartered in the Netherlands and one of the world\u2019s largest companies, is notable when you consider the strong opposition<\/a> to AB 32 from the oil industry at large. In 2010, Proposition 23<\/a> attempted to derail the imposition<\/a> of AB 32 provisions and was largely bankrolled by Tesoro and Valero, two Texas oil companies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

High producers of carbon dioxide, especially oil refineries, will be hard hit when AB 32 goes into force. So what\u2019s the rationale of Shell\u2019s apparent \u201cgreen\u201d attitude?<\/p>\n

Voser explained that the company is not waiting for cap and trade to be commonplace. Several years ago, he said Shell started taking into account a charge for CO2 of $40 per ton to reflect the future price of CO2 in its internal accounting. What he didn\u2019t say is that in Europe, where Shell is headquartered, an emissions trading scheme<\/a> is already in existence and the implementation of AB 32 would arguably make Shell more globally competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are emitting quite a bit of CO2,\u201d Voser acknowledged in his clipped Swiss accent. And he highlighted the company\u2019s investment in carbon sequestration<\/a> projects, one of which begins construction in Canada shortly.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Gulf of Mexico accounts for approximately 55% of Shell\u2019s oil and gas production in the USA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He also drew attention to the GameChanger<\/a> program at Shell, which invites people to pitch innovative ideas for potential sponsorship from the company. But almost in the same breath, he accepted that the energy industry is resistant to change, citing the innovator\u2019s dilemma<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to Voser, global energy demand will double between now and 2050, half of which will come from growth in China.\u00a0 So how can we grow without burning up the planet?<\/p>\n

The Shell chief executive says alternative energy, energy efficiency and demand management are all parts of the solution, and he anticipates that Silicon Valley\u2019s greatest contribution will be on the demand side.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that shortening the delivery time for innovative technologies is key. Historically, it takes 15- 30 years for new energy technologies to be scaled and delivered. This needs to be cut in half, according to Voser, and he says he views energy policy as an important component to spur innovation and adoption.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we really want to have the right technologies developed, not having a CO2 price will mean there is uncertainty and therefore you will not get certain energy efficiency or innovation projects that you need implemented,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This green talk by Voser is all very well, but Shell\u2019s environmental record, particularly in Africa<\/a>, is hardly emerald green. One example that’s drawn recent criticism is the company\u2019s legal action<\/a> against environmental groups that are seeking to block drilling in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska\u2019s North Slope.<\/p>\n

Voser\u2019s explanation of the legal action on Wednesday was not convincing. He described the company\u2019s move as \u201ca tactic to bring all parties to the table early,\u201d and begin an open dialogue. The environmental groups argue that the drilling project will adversely affect native communities and that the company\u2019s oil spill contingency plans are grossly inadequate. But Shell has spent over $4 billion on the project to date, and has vowed to spend even more, setting up a David and Goliath battle: deep-pocketed oil company versus feisty but meagerly funded nonprofits.<\/p>\n

Note: Voser spoke at a Churchill Club<\/a> event at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame on Wednesday March 21st<\/sup>. The audience included a who\u2019s who of the Bay Area\u2019s climate and clean tech experts, including Facebook\u2019s new green czar Bill Weihl; venture capitalist Ira Ehrenpreis and Dan Geiger of the US Green Building Council.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shell CEO is pro-AB 32, but stands by taking legal action against environmentalists in Alaska<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10333,"featured_media":20467,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[11,109,295,406,508,579],"coauthors":[],"series":[],"affiliates":[],"programs":[],"collections":[],"interests":[],"class_list":["post-20450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government-business","category-power","tag-ab-32","tag-clean-energy","tag-innovation","tag-oil","tag-shell","tag-technology"],"acf":{"template_type":"standard","featured_image_type":"standard","is_audio_post":false},"yoast_head":"\nWhy Shell Oil Supports California's Climate Change Legislation | Climate Watch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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