Stavanger Global Leadership &
Technology Exchange
9-10 June
2010
Twice a year the
companies that make up the Global Leadership & Technology Exchange meet
to share views and experiences of low-carbon growth. On 9-10
June representatives of the 16 partners met in Stavanger, Norway to evaluate the role of the
oil and gas industry in efforts to build a low-carbon economy. The
meeting was hosted by Statoil.
The discussions were incisive and hard-hitting, summed up by Dr
Gabrielle Walker, Xyntéo’s Chief Scientist, as a "reality check". A set
of briefings on the key themes will be available shortly. In the
meantime, here are some highlights:
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John Hess, Chairman and CEO of Hess Corporation, threw some cold water
on the conversation by pointing out what it would actually take to
achieve an 80% cut in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. He argued
that we may need to recalibrate our expectations, focusing our efforts
on the achievable.
A robust carbon price, radically higher automotive
and building efficiency and the displacement of coal with natural gas –
these were some of the areas Mr Hess said we should be concentrating on.
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Statoil’s CEO, Helge Lund, reminded us
that the world would remain dependent on oil and gas for some decades to
come. "We are underestimating the transformation," he said.
For him, the lack of a clear policy framework was
holding business back from unleashing their energies.
-
"The
800-pound gorilla came to the meeting with no political
mandate." This was Peter Darbee’s diagnosis of what went wrong at
Copenhagen.
Mr Darbee, the CEO of PG&E and US co-chair of
GLTE, described what his company was
doing in the US to shore up the mandate for climate action, including by contributing its
own proposals on market mechanisms to cut carbon emissions.
He also
recounted how PG&E’s decision to pursue lower-carbon growth had had
serendipitous results: it had proved incredibly "energising" for his
employees, with knock-on effects on productivity and performance.
- Malcolm Brinded of Shell and Rune Bjørnson at Statoil spoke
convincingly about the urgent need to exploit the advantages of natural gas – its
relative abundance, affordability and cleanliness – to move the world
closer to the low-carbon future. This became, for many if not all
participants, the main take-away of the exchange. One of the briefings will be dedicated
to this issue.
Many of the presentations given in Stavanger have been
made available by the speakers.
Click here.
Also
available: video footage of speeches and interviews. Click here.
Home |
Contact.
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Peter Darbee
John Hess
Helge Lund
Osvald Bjelland
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