environment
BP Shifts Policy On Climate Change
F
or nearly two decades, the fossil fuel industry has been battling the idea that greenhouse gases may eventually cause serious problems for human beings and other life on Earth. Some fossil fiiel associations have even claimed that warming the planet could improve living conditions for the biosphere, so it would be unwise to try to reduce the use of fossil fuels. But recently, the views of two very large oil companies seem to have changed. On May 19 at Stanford University, John Browne, group chief executive for British Petroleum, announced major policy shifts for his company. "There is now an effective consensus among the world's leading scientists . . . that there is a discernible human influence on the climate," and that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the increase in global average temperature are linked, he said. Even though "there are large elements of uncertainty—about cause and effect— and even more importantly about the consequences," Browne added, "it would be unwise and potentially dangerous to ignore the mounting concern. The time to consider the policy dimensions of climate change is not when the link between greenhouse gases and climate change is conclusively proven, but when the possibility cannot be discounted." Therefore, BP has decided to assume its share of responsibility for the future of the planet by taking precautionary action now, Browne said. That consists of six major commitments, which will be augmented by more steps to be announced later this year. First, BP, the world's fourth largest oil firm with annual sales of $69 billion, plans to increase its investments in solar energy, Browne said. Currently, the company's solar division, BP Solar, which manufactures silicon cells and thin-film teclinologies, has annual sales of $100 million. Over the coming decade, BP Solar intends to increase sales 10-fold to $1 billion annually and to beef up its research effort. As a part of this effort, Browne continued, BP Solar is opening its first plant in the U.S., a $20 million facility in Fairfield, Calif., to manufacture a proprietary thin-film technology. The plant will produce solar panels that can be installed on homes and supply about 10% of their daily electricity needs. Browne said he expects solar will become 24 JUNE 9, 1997 C&EN
competitive in supplying peak electricity demand within the next 10 years. In a second effort, BP will work hard to control emissions from its own operations, Browne said. It is investing $100 million to eliminate emissions of volatile organic compoundsfromits crude-oil export terminal in Scotland, which now handles 10% of Europe's oil supplies. And BP will do a better job of monitoring its own carbon dioxide emissions, he said. "It is a very simple business lesson that what gets measured gets managed," he explained. Third, BP is cooperating in a joint project in Bolivia. The project is managed by the Nature Conservancy, an environmental organization that aims to preserve habitats and species, and sponsored by the large investor-owned utility American Electric Power. The joint project aims to save 5 million acres of rain forest, which without protection, would be clear-cut or burned, releasing 53 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. BP is also cooperating with the U.S. Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute to develop a technology strategy to address the climate issue, Browne said. In a similar project, BP, along with several other companies, will be working with the World Resources Institute to study policy pathways that would lead to the goal of stabilizing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, said Kenneth E. Blower, director of health, safety, and environment for BP America. Andfinally,BP will join with the Environmental Defense Fund, a New Yorkbased environmental group, in a project to demonstrate the trading of permits for greenhouse gas emissions. An international trading system for greenhouse gas permits would be similar to the national trading system for sulfur dioxide emission permits now in use in the U.S. Despite its concern over climate change, BP has not committed to supporting a specific target for the control of greenhouse gases. "The new goals for greenhouse gas emissions—precisely the levels that should be set—are still under debate," Browne said. He would like to see a climate treaty that "allows the market to operate, that allows people to do joint implementation," and that allows for
Browne: what gets measured gets managed
the trading of emission permits. A treaty needs to be practical and good for companies as well as governments, he added. Browne did not Rile out the idea of a tax on fuels' carbon content to aid in controlling greenhouse gas emissions. "A carbon tax that addresses coal, oil, and gas, combined with the trading of permits, might be a positive incentive to get people to do tilings that are good for the world," he said. BP spokesmen refused to compare BP's policies with those of other oilfirms.But Daniel F. Becker, director of the global warming program at the Sierra Club, said: "Browne's speech shows a major split in the oil industry over global warming. BP has said it thinks global warming is a serious problem, and it is actually going to do something about it. Most other companies say either global warming is not a problem or leave me out of it." William F. O'Keefe, vice president of the American Petroleum Institute, disagreed. "John Browne's speech is not a major departure. He identified a set of actions that the petroleum industry has been considering all along," he said. Indeed, BP's ideas may be spreading. Soon after Browne's announcement, Heinz Rothermund, managing director of Shell U.K. Exploration & Production, speaking at Strathclyde University, Glasgow, questioned one of the major functions of his company. "How far is it sensible to explore for and develop new hydrocarbon reserves, given that the atmosphere may not be able to cope with the greenhouse gases that will emanate from the utilization of the hydrocarbon reserves discovered already?" he asked. "Undoubtedly, there is a dilemma." Bette Hilemcin
