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Ivan Glasenberg in 2012, via Wikimedia Commons.
Glencore (LON:GLEN), the world’s No. 1 exporter of coal used in power stations, believes governments would fail to implement measures to cut carbon emissions, such as forcing miners keep its reserves in the ground.
Speaking at the launch of Glencore’s sustainability report on Tuesday, chief executive Ivan Glasenberg said growing demand for cheap energy would secure demand for fossil fuels. This way, the executive dismissed concerns that any of his company’s 4.3 billion tonnes of coal reserves could be left worthless – or ‘stranded’ – by international action to cut greenhouse gases, Bloomberg reported:
“Some of our stakeholders are concerned about the future of our fossil fuel reserves; in particular that they may become stranded assets. We do not believe that the global energy reality will economically support carbon measures that would prevent us from fully utilizing our fossil fuel reserves,” Glasenberg said.
Critics were quick to react. Anthony Hobley, chief executive of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, told The Guardian that Glasenberg’s statement bluntly challenges reports from international banks, such as HSBC, and ignores the concerns of the Bank of England and the G20.
“It reminds me of similar denials by previous industries in decline from steam locomotion, Kodak film, Blockbuster videos and Olivetti typewriters,” Hobley was quoted as saying.
A recent report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, claims that 80% of the known coal reserves must remain in the ground if ongoing changes in the world’s climate are to be tackled. The document, approved by 195 of the world’s nations, concluded that limiting the impacts of global warming “is necessary to achieve sustainable development and equity, including poverty eradication” and that climate change impacts are projected “to prolong existing and create new poverty traps”.
According to the World Coal Association, coal currently supplies about 30% of the world’s main energy needs and over 40% of its electricity. At the same time, consumption of the fossil fuel in China, the world’s biggest consumer, fell in 2014 for the first time in 14 years. The nation has said it will ban coal use in smog-cloaked Beijing by 2020.
9 Comments
Fern Henley
Somehow I doubt that coal share of energy production declined. Probably productivity declined so coal use declined. Or an increase in nuclear energy may have actually increased in share. That would be cleaner, cheaper and more efficient in terms of energy flux density. What’s not to like? Fossils fuels make wonderful products in place of just burning them up. Glencore is well positioned.
Augusto Macuvele
The industrialized world based its development on coal and now someone very clever wants to convince developing countries that coal is not good? They can use nuclear energy and the results will be like in Japan but poorer folks elsewhere have no choice but o burn coal to save their miserable citizens.
Art Easian
There is no solid experimental support for the CO2 hypothesis in any case. It’s the sun that controls the climate.
groeg
I bet Glasenberg is right.His performance and judgment is outstanding.The same cannot be said from the environmentalists.They offer only wishful thinking.
Mike Failla
Predictions are not evidence okay? Sun controls climate. how on earth do you explain the 4 seasons we have? How do you explain the ice age? How do you explain………oh never mind I am wasting pixels with the doomsayers and predictors who are always wrong. They were wrong 20 years ago with global cooling and now they are obsessed with global warming.
bjoe244
It seems that some politicians are still able to understand what is going on:
“Norway’s Finance Minister Doubts Global Warming Is Man-Made”
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/04/29/world/europe/ap-eu-norway-climate.html?_r=0
Mike Failla
Perhaps you didn’t get the sarcasm?
Honheree
This is the best video on the Global warming scam by a host of experts. It was a scam started by Margaret Thatcher to break the coal unions and is now a continuing scam by Al Gore and cronies to make billions in carbon credits and bring down our way of life. It is long but worth every minute. Please share as the TV networks will not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1XkbRYuQlI
moosesteak7
There’s little value in arguing with people that clearly doing not understand or value the scientific process. The ignorance in here is mind boggling. Clicking on your handles brings up Republican rants and talking points on all your favorite boogie men (and women).No doubt you feel there is little harm from continuing business as usual–be it expanding consumption or adding to the number of people on the earth. Most of you probably believe your invisible friend Jesus is looking out for us all. Meanwhile our industrial civilization and gross overpopulation is resulting in the next major extinction event, with biodiversity rapidly depleting. Yeah, must be a liberal conspiracy. The evidence for what business as usual has done and will continue to do is clear corroberated across many scientific disciplines. Now, I know it’s pretty hard to admit that our own lifestyles and civilization is destroying the ability of the eartth to sustain us and other creatures. It’s scary. But to stick your head in the sand is going to make it a lot worse. Yes, we are all selfish, and nobody wants to do with less. But ultimately we will have to.