As odd as it might seem, oil prices at $60 are not making it any easier for Big Oil and the likes. The Financial Times published two articles on how coal, oil and gas are through tought times. Let us review them here.
The first article explains that fossil fuels companies have been ” slowed, postponed or axed following the oil price plunge. “ These projects are worth a hundred billion dollars, yes that’s $100 billion. ( approx 90 billion euros ).
Up to 26 projects have been cancelled or delayed, with no less than ten in Canada alone. Tar sands and fracking projects in the United States have also been stopped as oil prices are not sufficient to pay for extreme oil.
We have seen why oil prices have more than halved this year, with an increase in production and a decreasing demand thanks to efficiency and alternatives. And this is only the beginning as I reported recently.
Meanwhile, coal demand is decreasing fast in China thanks to alternatives and energy efficiency as I reported earlier this week. So, there goes the main market for the environmental ennemy number One.
So, no North America is not the promised land for fossil fuels, nor is China… What about the European Union ? Afterall, they are still a major economic player. Well, the second Financial Times article I wrote this week is not exactly optimistic for more fossil fuel electricity generation as it is “ dying out ” there. Wooops…
Here is the introduction to the article :
Gérard Mestrallet, chief executive of Engie, one of the world’s biggest power companies, says fossil fuel electricity generation is on the way out in Europe.
But you might say that India and other developping / poor countries would be there to help those poooor coal companies. Not so fast, as India is pushing big and fast for renewables as they plan to provide electricity to the 400 million people lacking access to it by… solar.
Cleantechnica brings yet another nail in the coal fired plant of old :
The report, Power Shifts—Emerging Clean Energy Markets, shows that investment and deployment of electricity infrastructure is shifting from the industrialized economies of the Northern Hemisphere towards the developing economies collectively known as “the global south.” On top of this, there is a similar shift away from fossil fuel energy development towards development in clean energy technology.
Tracking clean energy investment, finance, and deployment trends in the world’s leading economies since 2009, the report shows that during this span, “a global recession, broad changes in energy markets, and uncertainty surrounding international policies on renewables and climate change have buffeted the industry.” Nevertheless, the authors of the report note that “despite these challenges, the clean energy sector is now a $300 billion fixture of the world economy.”
If all these news and the ones I blogged about previously don’t get you to divest from coal companies, I don’ know what will.
