{"id":85051,"date":"2022-04-07T12:09:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T10:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/?post_type=progetti-e-appr&p=85051"},"modified":"2022-04-30T11:55:42","modified_gmt":"2022-04-30T09:55:42","slug":"green-transition-is-still-a-mirage-for-europes-big-oil-companies","status":"publish","type":"progetti-e-appr","link":"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/en\/projects-and-insights\/green-transition-is-still-a-mirage-for-europes-big-oil-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"Green transition is still a mirage for Europe\u2019s big oil companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Interview with Leticia Canal Vieira, coauthor of a recent article regarding the green transition and the actions needed at the European level for its implementation.<\/i><\/p>\n

The publication of the article\u00a0Will the regime ever break? Assessing sociopolitical and economic pressures to climate action and European oil majors\u2019 response<\/i><\/a>\u00a0(2005-2019)\u00a0<\/i>by\u00a0Leticia Canal Vieira<\/b>,\u00a0Mariolina Longo\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0Matteo Mura<\/b>,\u00a0sheds light on the importance of social, political, and economic pressures to push oil companies toward a low-carbon transition. From the study conducted by the three scholars of the University of Bologna and the\u00a0Centre for Sustainability and Climate Change at BBS<\/b>, some not very encouraging evidence emerges, primarily the low effectiveness of politics in guiding the decisions of major oil companies. We asked\u00a0Leticia Canal Vieira<\/b>\u00a0to comment on these results and help us understand the correct way in which we should interpret the shared data.<\/p>\n

Among the key facts of the article there is a particularly disheartening one: Europe does not have a comprehensive policy framework to support the distribution of available alternative fuels. In your opinion, especially at this moment in history, what could be the alternative avenues to consider in order to continue reducing emissions, despite everything?<\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, I would like to point out that this figure refers mainly to the\u00a0transport sector<\/b>\u00a0and in particular to the\u00a0infrastructures<\/b>\u00a0needed for certain technologies. Because the technologies are there, such as electric motors and\u00a0biofuels<\/b>, the problem is that there is not always a sufficiently extensive\u00a0network<\/b>\u00a0to ensure their\u00a0distribution<\/b>. So, the alternatives exist and certainly there are sectors in which the road to a reduction in\u00a0CO2 emissions<\/b>\u00a0is easier. Looking at the data, we have seen that the transport sector in Europe has not only\u00a0failed to reduce emissions<\/b>\u00a0but has actually increased them. One might think that the cause is emissions from aviation or navigation, but we should also note the significant contribution of the\u00a0cars<\/b>\u00a0we use in our cities. From this point of view, we can say that what is missing is the commitment to convert infrastructures with a view to a more efficient\u00a0distribution<\/b>.<\/p>\n

Regarding the historical moment, we highlight how harmful it is for an economy not to be self-sufficient in its\u00a0energy supply<\/b>\u00a0and how important it is to become so. In the article we mention the fact that\u00a0Europe imports practically all the oil<\/b>\u00a0it uses, which also poses a problem of\u00a0energy security<\/b>. At the time we drafted the article the scenario wasn\u2019t the current one, but now we are experiencing exactly what we hoped would never happen and I can only hope that it is a push towards choosing to adopt solutions that are available, but in which too little is still being invested. The article also mentions one of the first\u00a0European directives<\/b>\u00a0that focused on the\u00a0introduction of renewables<\/b>, even in the transport sector. This is a\u00a02009 directive<\/b>, but it was never decisive because, as much as there was incremental adoption of fuels from renewable sources, there was never a real resolve to end\u00a0dependence on fossil fuels<\/b>, only to reduce it. Obviously, the various events that led to the fact that there was not a stronger push in this direction are to be taken into account and these are detailed in the article.<\/p>\n

Another finding that emerges from the study is that fossil fuel companies are not doing enough. Peter Wadhams, in a recent speech at Bologna Business School, said that we need to stop asking oil companies to commit to changing the system and confront them with a fait accompli, forcing them to divert investment to other sources. If politics doesn\u2019t have the strength to do that, could the public opinion exert more pressure? And, in this regard, how could people\u2019s perception of the problem change, given the crisis we have been experiencing in recent months?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pressure from the\u00a0public<\/b>\u00a0is important, but so are all the factors involved, bar none. The conceptual framework we used to make this study is based precisely on the need for pressure from\u00a0different actors<\/b>\u00a0for there to be a real\u00a0transition<\/b>. All actors need to be involved, actually, because the transition to renewable energy also requires a\u00a0change in business models<\/b>\u00a0and technologies used at various levels. So, pressure from the public opinion, but also\u00a0political and economic<\/b>\u00a0pressure, from investors and customers: commitment and clear willingness are needed from all stakeholders. The study shows that the time when\u00a0oil companies<\/b>\u00a0have committed to\u00a0investing more<\/b>\u00a0in renewables has been when pressure has come from many quarters, including events organized by\u00a0people<\/b>\u2018s associations, specific\u00a0investor<\/b>\u00a0demands and\u00a0political stance<\/b>. The ultimate goal is not to get these companies to start producing renewables alongside\u00a0fossil fuels<\/b>: the goal is for\u00a0society as a whole<\/b>\u00a0to complete an\u00a0energy transition<\/b>\u00a0to sustainable sources, or at least to stop using fossil fuels. Unfortunately, such a change takes time, and the current crisis can be seen as a window of\u00a0opportunity<\/b>\u00a0to understand how important it is to plan\u00a0long-term actions<\/b>\u00a0that will allow us to\u00a0reduce our dependence on fossil fuels<\/b>. In this sense, even in our analysis we note that since aviation, navigation and petrochemicals have a continuous need for fossil fuels, there is an underlying certainty that drives their production and that is that there will always be a market for them. This shows that it is\u00a0not enough to invest in renewables<\/b>, we need to change the technologies underpinning entire industries and create alternatives. It will not be a rapid process and\u00a0it cannot be a change left entirely in the hands of companies<\/b>, although a different mentality can certainly help: politics must intervene to orient investments in a different way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"template":"","progetti_e_approfondimenti_cat":[240],"class_list":["post-85051","progetti-e-appr","type-progetti-e-appr","status-publish","hentry","progetti_e_approfondimenti_cat-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreen transition is still a mirage for Europe\u2019s big oil companies | BBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbs.unibo.it\/en\/projects-and-insights\/green-transition-is-still-a-mirage-for-europes-big-oil-companies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Green transition is still a mirage for Europe\u2019s big oil companies | BBS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Interview with Leticia Canal Vieira, coauthor of a recent article regarding the green transition and the actions needed at the European level for its implementation. 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