Chicago Tribune, IL
04-11-07
Oil chief calls for emissions caps
By Jim Kennett
Bloomberg News
ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulva became the first head of a
major U.S. oil company to call for national mandates to reduce emissions of socalled greenhouse gases to stem global warming.
Voluntary efforts to limit emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to
global climate change aren't enough, Mulva, 60, told journalists in Washington
yesterday. In support of national mandates, ConocoPhillips joined the U.S.
Climate Action Partnership, a business and environmental group, to get ``a seat
at the table'' when decisions are made, he said.
``Voluntary programs have worked reasonably well, but voluntary programs are
not going to meet the challenge of climate change,'' said Mulva, CEO of the thirdbiggest U.S. oil company.
Environmentalists have said for years that the world is getting warmer due to the
burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, coal and diesel. On Feb. 2, the United
Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change put the probability at more
than 90 percent that humans are to blame.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips is the only U.S. oil company to join USCAP.
London-based BP Plc, Europe's second-largest oil company, is one of the
group's founding members and the only other major oil company in the
organization.
Temperatures have risen worldwide since the industrial revolution of the 19th
century ushered in more use of fossil fuels, according to the United Nations
panel. If the warming trend continues, it could threaten food production and water
supplies, and spur malaria and cholera epidemics, it said.
President George W. Bush's administration said following the panel's study that
the human role in climate change is no longer debatable.
Mulva said he hopes a national climate-change program can be enacted in the
next year or two, though more studies are needed to decide at what level
emissions caps should be set. ``I think it's premature to say externally, both for
the country and the world and our own company, just what those should be,'' he
said.
It also isn't clear what form a nationally mandated program should take, Mulva
said. The so-called cap-and-trade concept, whereby companies trade emissions
credits, has growing international acceptance, while a carbon tax is more
transparent, he said.
Any system should be clear and balanced, encourage energy efficiency and
clearly communicate the cost of lowering emissions to consumers, Mulva said.
Other oil companies have acknowledged claims that humans are responsible for
global warming. Exxon Mobil Corp. in February called for action to combat global
warming and the ``serious'' damage it could cause to the environment and the
economy.
As the world's largest oil company and refiner, Exxon Mobil was attacked by
environmentalists throughout the 1990s before softening its position on climate
change. Exxon Mobil hasn't said whether it endorses or opposes a federal
emission cap.
Governments should impose more rules to limit emissions of gases blamed for
global warming, Royal Dutch Shell Plc CEO Jeroen van der Veer said on Feb. 1.
``Governments, plural, should make international frameworks'' to limit carbon
dioxide, he said then. ``CO2 will play a major role in our industry, and we have to
develop more technology.''
ConocoPhillips will increase spending on research and technology aimed at
alternative and renewable fuels, Mulva said. Of the company's $400 million
dedicated this year to research and development, about $250 million is
earmarked for traditional oil and gas projects. The company budgeted $150
million for alternatives such as ethanol and unconventional energy sources like
shale oil, he said.
This year's spending on alternative energy research will be 50 percent higher
than last year's. Mulva said he plans more increases.
Yesterday, the company said it is establishing an eight- year, $22.5 million
biofuels research program at Iowa State University. Biofuels include ethanol
made from corn starch and biodiesel made from soy beans. Similar programs are
expected to be unveiled in the coming months, Mulva said.
Many industrialized nations have already begun taking action by setting caps on
emissions. The 27-nation European Union agreed March 9 to unilaterally reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent, and proposed a 30 percent cut if
developed nations followed suit.
The effort is in addition to existing commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, a
1997 treaty involving 35 countries that agreed to cut emissions by a combined 5
percent from 1990 levels by the 2008-2012 period.
The U.S., the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and Australia didn't ratify the
treaty, and developing nations such as India and China aren't subject to
emissions reductions.
--With reporting by Tom Cahill and Stephen Voss in London..