Sustainability: is security of demand still assured after COP21?
What are the outcomes of COP21 for the gas industry as a whole, and can security of demand be taken for granted? In this session, representatives from some of the main industry bodies and companies, discussed the impact of the ground-breaking Paris meeting.
Gas as part of the solution
Gertjan Lankhorst, Chairman of industry group Euro Gas, as well as CEO of GasTerra, welcomed the outcome of the Paris conference. In his view, it was the first time such a global coalition has agreed to make a serious effort to challenge climate change.
“The outcome of COP21 was technology neutral” Lankhorst said. “If it’s done in the proper way then gas is part of the solution, so then it does offer tremendous opportunities.”
David Carroll, President of the International Gas Union, believes that governments are still inclined to include gas in their future energy vision: “If you’re really serious about your COP21 carbon reduction commitments AND you want to address the challenge of air quality as you’re developing your economies then gas offers the cheapest and quickest way to address both of those concerns immediately.”
“We believe that gas is the fossil fuel to bet on in the future,” said Total’s VP Oil & Gas Advocacy, Froncois-Regis Mouton. “We invest more in gas; we are not investing in high cost oil projects anymore as we believe they will not be necessary in the future, and we are investing in renewables.” Total is now number three globally in solar panel production, and has just bought battery manufacturer Saft, demonstrating its commitment to expand its clean energy portfolio.
Changing Gas Demand
“In the power sector in the US over the last decade we have seen a 75% increase in gas usage for power generation and a 35% reduction in coal. As a result we’ve seen a 12% reduction in CO2 emissions. It’s been a very compelling story there, all at a net cost reduction,” explained Carroll. The trend towards renewables and gas, away from oil and coal in the US, he says, has been driven by economics and the evolution of technology.
Gertjan Lankhorst of Euro Gas, believes all other continents are seeing stronger growth in demand for gas than Europe. “Here it’s a mixed outlook but gas will continue to play a vital part in the energy mix.”
Lankhurst believes innovation is vital in the industry, such as the integration of biogas, green gas and similar products to the gas grid.
“If you do this, you don’t just reduce CO2 in terms of the amount that you use, but you also de-carbonise the fuel itself… As a gas industry ourselves we have to work on making our product greener.”
“I think the industry has been successful at creating more gas supplies,” added Total’s Mouton, “but now we need to be more creative and more dynamic in creating new demand.” This may be in the heating sector, in long haul transport such as trucking and also in cars.
An opportunity for outreach
The broad feeling from the panel was that COP21 had been a success for the gas industry. Froncois-Regis Mouton, who is also Chairman of the international industry association GasNaturally, spoke of the success of the GasNaturally outreach programme carried out at COP21.
The organisation conducted a communications campaign using the social media site, Twitter, and managed to garner more than 20,000 impressions each day from its messages. “We had a real impact” he said. “We were engaging. It was very positive and very constructive.”
The International Gas Union took a different approach to its COP21 engagement, instead focusing on their work on air quality. It published a report profiling four global mega-cities where they have used natural gas to address air quality issues.
“If you are really serious about improving air quality then gas offers the cheapest and quickest way to address that,” said David Carroll, President of the International Gas Union. “It would be a shame not to take advantage of that.”