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Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil sells rights to oil blocks near Amazon river mouth
Brazil sold extraction rights to 19 oil and gas blocks near the mouth of the Amazon river Tuesday, at an auction slammed by environmentalists months before the country is to host a UN climate summit. Two consortiums -- one comprising Brazil's state-owned Petrobras and US giant ExxonMobil, the other US multinational Chevron and China's CNPC -- spent $153 million on exploration and production concessions for 19 blocks on offer in an area considered vulnerable to environmental harm. They are among 172 blocks, most of them offshore, that went on auction Tuesday as dozens of protesters gathered outside the venue under a banner reading: "Stop the doomsday auctions." Green groups have expressed particular concern over 47 blocks in the Atlantic, in an area near the mouth of the Amazon River that flows through the world's largest carbon-capturing tropical rainforest. The first 19 blocks to which rights were sold were part of these 47. In all, 34 blocks found takers at the auction, bringing in about $180 million for the state. Investments of more than $260 million are planned for exploration. - 'Cannot ignore it' - Already Latin America's biggest oil and gas producer, Brazil is seeking to increase production from 4.68 million to 5.3 million barrels per day by 2030. At the same time, the country has pledged to reduce its emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions to 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2e). By 2050, it is seeking to reach neutrality -- meaning emissions do not exceed the amount captured, by forests, for example. Brazil's ClimaInfo research institute had estimated that the 172 blocks placed on auction would emit some 11.1 billion tons of CO2e. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, seeking to position himself as a leader in the fight against climate change, supported the auction that will see the successful bidders pay royalties on whatever oil and natural gas they eventually do extract. "If this wealth exists, we cannot ignore it, as it will help us to make the energy transition and secure funds to preserve our forests," Lula declared in February. "We must act responsibly. I do not want oil exploration to cause any harm to the environment," he added. Before they can start exploration, the companies must obtain a drilling license from environment oversight body Ibama -- a process that can take years. The Climate Action Tracker, which measures governments' actions, has said Brazil "is not on track" to meet its emissions targets and needed to "peak and rapidly decrease emissions" if the world is to succeed in limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). The auction went ahead despite Brazil's Federal Public Ministry, an independent rights-monitoring body set up under the Brazilian constitution, calling for it to be suspended pending "adequate studies" on the potential impact of exploration. "Brazil is missing an opportunity to be a leader in decarbonization and environmental protection," Suely Araujo, a former president of Ibama and coordinator of the Climate Observatory NGO said ahead of Tuesday's auction. And the WWF's Brazil branch said the country "already has enough oil reserves to meet its internal demand" while gradually transitioning to a greener energy mix. "The climate crisis requires bold decisions and public policies focused on the future, not the past," it added. Brazil will host the UN climate conference called COP30 in November in the Amazonian city of Belem. lg/tmo/mlr/dw
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
Brazil Sells Exploration Rights To Oil Blocks Near Amazon River Mouth
Brazil sold exploration rights to 19 oil and gas blocks near the mouth of the Amazon river Tuesday, at the start of an auction slammed by environmentalists months before the country is to host the COP30 climate summit. Two consortiums -- one comprising Brazil's state-owned Petrobras and US giant ExxonMobil, the other US multinational Chevron and China's CNPC -- spent $153 million on the rights to 19 of 47 deepwater blocks on offer in an area considered vulnerable to environmental harm. They are among 172 oil blocks, most of them offshore, placed on auction Tuesday, with some 30 companies registered to take part. Shortly after opening, rights to the first 19 blocks were snatched up as dozens of protesters gathered outside under a banner reading: "Stop the doomsday auctions." Green groups have expressed particular concern over the 47 Atlantic exploration blocks in an area near the mouth of the Amazon River that flows through the world's largest carbon-capturing tropical rainforest. If exploited, the 172 blocks would emit some 11.1 billion tons of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere, according to Brazil's ClimaInfo research institute -- undermining the country's target to become a net zero emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Already Latin America's biggest oil and gas producer, Brazil is seeking to increase production from 4.68 million to 5.3 million barrels per day by 2030. Under the 2015 Paris climate agreements, Brazil has pledged to reduce its emissions to 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030, and to reach neutrality by 2050 -- meaning emissions do not exceed the amount captured, by forests for example. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, seeking to position himself as a leader in the fight against climate change, nevertheless supports the auction. "If this wealth exists, we cannot ignore it, as it will help us to make the energy transition and secure funds to preserve our forests," he declared in February. "We must act responsibly. I do not want oil exploration to cause any harm to the environment," he added. The Climate Action Tracker, which measures governments' actions, has said Brazil "is not on track to reach either its 2025 target or its 2030" and the country "needs to peak and rapidly decrease emissions" to achieve its contribution to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). "Opening new frontiers for exploration in fragile ecosystems increases the risk of environmental disasters and heightens threats to... marine biodiversity," Greenpeace Brazil's Mariana Andrade told AFP. The auction went ahead despite Brazil's Federal Public Ministry, an independent rights-monitoring body set up under the Brazilian constitution, calling for it to be suspended pending "adequate studies" on the potential impact of exploration. Petrobras is awaiting a license from environment oversight body Ibama to begin a mega oil exploration project for which it obtained a concession in 2013 in the same area. Brazil will host the COP30 UN climate conference in November in the Amazonian city of Belem. "Brazil is missing an opportunity to be a leader in decarbonization and environmental protection," said Suely Araujo, a former president of Ibama and coordinator of the Climate Observatory NGO. "The government clearly expresses its intent to increase oil production," she said in a statement. Indigenous people take part in a demonstration in front of the hotel in Rio de Janeiro where an oil blocks auction is taking place AFP
France 24
2 days ago
- Business
- France 24
Brazil sells exploration rights to oil blocks near Amazon river mouth
Two consortiums -- one comprising Brazil's state-owned Petrobras and US giant ExxonMobil, the other US multinational Chevron and China's CNPC -- spent $153 million on the rights to 19 of 47 deepwater blocks on offer in an area considered vulnerable to environmental harm. They are among 172 oil blocks, most of them offshore, placed on auction Tuesday, with some 30 companies registered to take part. Shortly after opening, rights to the first 19 blocks were snatched up as dozens of protesters gathered outside under a banner reading: "Stop the doomsday auctions." Green groups have expressed particular concern over the 47 Atlantic exploration blocks in an area near the mouth of the Amazon River that flows through the world's largest carbon-capturing tropical rainforest. If exploited, the 172 blocks would emit some 11.1 billion tons of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere, according to Brazil's ClimaInfo research institute -- undermining the country's target to become a net zero emitter of planet-warming greenhouse gases. Already Latin America's biggest oil and gas producer, Brazil is seeking to increase production from 4.68 million to 5.3 million barrels per day by 2030. Under the 2015 Paris climate agreements, Brazil has pledged to reduce its emissions to 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent by 2030, and to reach neutrality by 2050 -- meaning emissions do not exceed the amount captured, by forests for example. 'Cannot ignore it' Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, seeking to position himself as a leader in the fight against climate change, nevertheless supports the auction. "If this wealth exists, we cannot ignore it, as it will help us to make the energy transition and secure funds to preserve our forests," he declared in February. "We must act responsibly. I do not want oil exploration to cause any harm to the environment," he added. The Climate Action Tracker, which measures governments' actions, has said Brazil "is not on track to reach either its 2025 target or its 2030" and the country "needs to peak and rapidly decrease emissions" to achieve its contribution to the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit). "Opening new frontiers for exploration in fragile ecosystems increases the risk of environmental disasters and heightens threats to... marine biodiversity," Greenpeace Brazil's Mariana Andrade told AFP. The auction went ahead despite Brazil's Federal Public Ministry, an independent rights-monitoring body set up under the Brazilian constitution, calling for it to be suspended pending "adequate studies" on the potential impact of exploration. Petrobras is awaiting a license from environment oversight body Ibama to begin a mega oil exploration project for which it obtained a concession in 2013 in the same area. Brazil will host the COP30 UN climate conference in November in the Amazonian city of Belem. "Brazil is missing an opportunity to be a leader in decarbonization and environmental protection," said Suely Araujo, a former president of Ibama and coordinator of the Climate Observatory NGO.
Spectator
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Norway is laughing at Miliband's net zero folly
Here's a pub quiz question: which European country has no net zero target? I don't mean which country is not bothering too much about conforming with its net zero target, because that is most of them, but which one doesn't even have such a target in the first place? The surprising answer is Norway, which has a target of reducing its carbon emissions by 90 to 95 per cent on 1990 levels by 2050 but has made no commitment so far to go all the way. It is surprising because, in many respects, the Scandinavian country is the global equivalent of a class creep – it almost always seems to behave in a way which officials at the United Nations and other international global NGOs find exemplary. Indeed, it is one of the few countries whose policies are very nearly consistent with its carbon reduction target, in the judgement of the website Climate Action Tracker.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Experts sound the alarm over global inaction on critical issues: 'We have seen virtually nothing'
The Paris Agreement is an international climate treaty aiming to limit the global temperature increase to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above levels before the Industrial Revolution. In order to meet this goal, nations must work together to make policy changes to reduce their contributions to rising global temperatures. Governments involved knew the initial targets set in 2015 weren't going to cut it, so they agreed to submit updated goals (see them at the Climate Target Update Tracker) by early 2025 that would better align with the limit set by the Paris Agreement. However, a press release from Climate Action Tracker reports that the 2035 target updates fall alarmingly short. According to the press release, most of the proposals submitted don't present a credible pathway to limit global temperature increases to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. Experts have warned that these insufficient commitments could accelerate environmental damage and make it increasingly difficult to avert catastrophic climate shifts. "The public is entitled to expect a strong reaction from their governments to the fact that global warming has now reached 1.5° for an entire year, but we have seen virtually nothing of real substance," said Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics. Out of the six countries mentioned, only one — the UK — set acceptable targets. And while the U.S. submitted its proposal in December 2024, the Trump administration has since pulled out of the Paris Agreement and walked back on some climate actions. The scientific community has overwhelmingly agreed that human activity, like burning dirty energy resources like oil and coal, contributes to pollution heating the planet, which supercharges extreme weather events and rising sea levels. This affects everyone, causing floods, fires, and storms that destroy communities and harm people. If sea levels continue to rise because of climbing global temperatures, coastal areas like New York and California could disappear into the ocean. Scientists have already debunked the "overshoot myth," which claims we'll have more advanced tech in the future to fix the problems we cause today. So there is an urgency attached to these targets if we want to avoid devastating long-term impacts of our planet overheating. While most countries that submitted targets fell short, others are still pending, including big contributors to pollution, such as the EU, China, and India. Experts have set guidelines for the key elements needed to make climate targets stronger — ambition, finance and fairness, credibility, and transparency. "Every fraction of a degree matters, and we expect governments to use the remaining time to submit ambitious 2035 NDCs and update their 2030 targets that align with the 1.5°C goal and commit to real, transformative action," said professor Niklas Höhne of the NewClimate Institute. Should the government be able to control how we heat our homes? Definitely Only if it saves money I'm not sure No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Individuals can be part of the solution by learning more about critical climate issues. Voting for pro-climate candidates also helps support stronger, more ambitious climate policies at the national level. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
