International Energy Agency slows energy transition, Santos chief says
Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher says a much-touted net-zero emissions report produced by the International Energy Agency had slowed down the transition away from fossil fuels by giving activists ammunition to campaign against gas developments that would help with decarbonisation.
Speaking at a conference in Vancouver, Mr Gallagher said the IEA’s report – published in 2021 – was “not even credible”, pointing to gaps between its projections on greenhouse gas emissions and the actual outcomes.
The IEA report presented a scenario that suggested no new development of oil and gas fields and no investment in coal-fired power stations would be needed for the world to reach net-zero emissions in 2050. It recommended that internal combustion engine cars be banned by 2035.
Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill joined Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher in predicting a long future for gas at the LNG2023 conference in Vancouver.
“The net-zero [scenario report] I think has been very harmful to the transition because it’s given a tool to a lot of activists to drive their agendas,” Mr Gallagher told the conference, known as LNG2023.
“In fact, if you look at that net-zero scenario, they are years behind it already, only three years after they published it, so it’s not even credible any more. If you look at all reputable forecasts, they all show that gas will increase in demand and in market share, and in our region of Asia the forecasts are indicating a 50 per cent growth in demand in 2050.”
The report is often cited by climate activists and pressure groups as they battle against several Santos projects, including the high-CO2 Barossa gas project in the Timor Sea and its $3.7 billion oil project in Alaska.
Santos’ arguments that it can accommodate the
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