Oil companies can only decarbonize as fast as the rest of the economy: Shell Canada
Global News
While Shell has its own net-zero ambitions, Susannah Pierce said the speed of global decarbonization is dependent on the entire economy transitioning, not just the energy sector.
The fossil fuel industry is increasingly under the microscope for its contribution to climate change, but the president of British oil giant Shell’s Canadian subsidiary says oil and gas companies can’t be held solely responsible for the pace of the global energy transition.
Shell Canada president Susannah Pierce made the comments Thursday in an interview in Calgary, where hundreds of executives and government officials from oil-producing nations around the world are arriving this weekend for the 24th World Petroleum Congress that kicks off Sunday.
The event, which was last held in Canada in 2000, is one of the world’s premier oil-and-gas conferences.
The theme of this year’s forum, at which industry heavyweights such as Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods and Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy are scheduled to speak, is the energy transition and the industry’s net-zero greenhouse gas emission goals.
Pierce, who is fresh off being named Business Leader of the Year by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce this week, is also speaking at the congress.
While Shell has its own net-zero ambitions — the company is investing in electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, biofuels and wind and solar energy, in addition to traditional oil and gas — Pierce said the speed of global decarbonization is dependent on the entire economy transitioning, not just the fossil fuel sector.
“We’re still a very largely fossil fuels-based economy, if you look across the various different sectors,” she said.
There has been renewed demand for traditional fossil fuels in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which has prompted global concerns about energy security.
A chemical engineer out of the University of Calgary is piloting what she says is a more efficient, cleaner lithium extraction process.
The World Health Organization has authorized the first mpox vaccine for children, a decision experts hope will help make immunizations more widely available.
California's public health department reported a possible case of bird flu in a child with mild respiratory symptoms, but said there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
The AER says the company must report any hazards that present a risk to public safety or the environment.
Trump nominated Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Howard Lutnick as his next U.S. commerce secretary, who would oversee tariff policy.
Bird flu has spread far and wide, infecting a range of species like chickens, skunks, cows, foxes and polar bears. But it's the pigs that have experts on high alert.
The CFIA has recalled E. coli-tainted carrots, following a U.S. health warning about the contaminated produce linked to one death and dozens of illnesses.
Health Canada said there was an issue with the braking system of the Stokke YOYO baby stroller, sold between August and October this year.
These editorial stories and interviews will focus on the people, companies, research, and innovations leading the environmental and sustainable movement in B.C.
Bennett had just returned from the school run last week when she found the mom and a baby raccoon unconscious, with one of the babies sleeping on the furniture.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.