Petrobras

• The global push to replace fossil fuels with biofuels has sparked innovations and prompted industry players to invest in renewable feedstock.
• Learn more about the practices & strategies being implemented by industry participants from the Biofuel Industry ESG Thematic Report, 2023 , published by Astra ESG Solutions
  Businesses are responding to the need for low-carbon fuels to help decarbonize the automotive, transport, marine and aviation sectors.
• Robust history of good governance and manufacturing biofuel ethically will enable companies to bring ESG solutions to farmers and customers.
• These ESG trends validate Grand View Research's projected CAGR of the global biofuel market at 6.9% between 2019 and 2024.

• Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT, BSE: 507685, NSE: WIPRO), a leading technology services and consulting company, today announced a five-year business partnership with ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) to invest in and bring new offerings to market that will empower clients to drive business transformation, overcome business challenges, and deliver greater value.
• The agreement expands on the two companies’ existing partnership and is expected to help accelerate Wipro’s goal of building a $1 billion business with ServiceNow by the end of 2026.
• As part of the partnership Wipro and ServiceNow will deliver joint clients process consulting, implementation, configuration, and managed services.
• Jason Eichenholz, Senior Vice President and Global Partnership Lead, Wipro Limited, said, “We couldn't be more excited to deepen our partnership with ServiceNow and jointly deliver greater value, agility, and impact to the market.

• The permit was eventually granted because the application was lodged just before the government’s 2018 offshore exploration ban was in place.
• The High Court ruled it should therefore have been considered under the previous system.
• Between 2008 and 2017, Aotearoa New Zealand’s offshore environment was opened up for further oil and gas exploration on the promise of economic growth and energy independence.

Deep Water Horizon and the Rena

• Read more:
  The Bay of Plenty oil spill: loading the dice against disaster

  First, the Rena disaster occurred in Tauranga, off the east coast of the North Island.

• The Rena was a container ship that ran aground on the Ōtāiti/Astrolabe reef in October 2011 while on its way into Tauranga Harbour.
• The second event, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, sensitised the public to the risks of offshore oil extraction.

Petrobras and the Raukūmara Basin

• Petrobras had secured a five-year permit to explore for oil and gas under block offers released in 2010.
• Nevertheless, Petrobras informed Te Whānau-ā-Apanui that they would begin their seismic survey work in early 2011 and began work in April using the large survey vessel, the Orient Explorer.
• Read more:
  Why New Zealand should not explore for more natural gas reserves

  Opposition to Petrobras began quickly both onshore and offshore, demanding “no drill, no spill”.

The ‘Andarko amendment’

• It was also a silent partner to the Deep Water Horizon rig responsible for the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The Minister for Energy and Resources at the time said the protesters shouldn’t be trying to stop other people going about their lawful business.

Change and uncertainty

• This is an edited extract from Stopping Oil: Climate Justice and Hope by Sophie Bond, Amanda Thomas and Gradon Diprose (Melbourne University Press).
• Amanda Thomas has recevied funding from Deep South National Science challenge in the past to research community responses to climate change.
• Gradon Diprose has received funding from Deep South National Science Challenge to research adaptation to climate change in Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Many assume that big publicly traded oil companies and private individuals are primarily responsible for climate change.
• Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and other fossil fuel companies continue to be some of the world’s major greenhouse gas emitters.
• Oxfam found that 125 of the world’s richest billionaires emit roughly three million tonnes of CO2 per year.

State-caused pollution is often neglected

• Despite recent privatization efforts, Saudi Arabia still owns 98 per cent of Saudi Aramco Oil Group.
• In 2017, the Carbon Disclosure Project reported that government-owned enterprises accounted for 59 per cent of the so-called carbon majors’ emissions.
• For reference, the aviation and shipping industries roughly account for two per cent of global emissions each.

State-caused pollution is different

• State-caused pollution presents both a problem and an opportunity.
• State-caused pollution is inconsistent with the principles of international climate change law.
• At the same time, state-caused pollution is easier to control through the political process.
• This implies that their activities are primarily shaped by political priorities, as opposed to the overriding goal of profit maximization.

Addressing state-caused pollution

• First, voters can urge governments to speed up the transition to cleaner energy through state-owned enterprises.
• Starting in 2003, the Ontario government closed five state-owned coal-fired power plants.
• The closures slashed coal’s share of the province’s electricity generation mix to zero per cent from roughly 25 per cent.

A new era for state-owned polluters?

• During the Cold War, many countries nationalized their fossil fuel industries to increase domestic wealth.
• State-owned energy companies in many countries continue to provide a reliable source of energy for domestic consumers.
• The mission of state-owned energy companies will need to change in the climate change era.