{"id":30943,"date":"2023-11-29T09:47:29","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T08:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=30943"},"modified":"2023-11-29T09:48:55","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T08:48:55","slug":"the-art-of-muddying-the-water-our-response-to-totalenergies-on-the-papua-lng-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2023\/11\/29\/the-art-of-muddying-the-water-our-response-to-totalenergies-on-the-papua-lng-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The art of muddying the water: our response to TotalEnergies on the Papua LNG project"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article co-signed by CELCOR, Jubilee Australia, Market Forces and Reclaim Finance<\/p>\n<\/div>

After its new mega-project in Papua New Guinea<\/a><\/span> received much media attention in September, TotalEnergies published its response (1) to an article from French newspaper Le Monde (2). In the interest of transparency, we bring additional light on some of the issues that TotalEnergies failed to mention about the Papua LNG <\/i>project. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>

Is TotalEnergies in line with the Paris Agreement?<\/h2><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

TotalEnergies indicates that its strategy to support the 2015 Paris Agreement is \u201dto continue providing the energy the world needs now, notably natural gas to replace coal<\/i>\u201d and that \u201cthe Papua New Guinea project is consistent with this strategy<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Net zero by 2050 scenario<\/i> (NZE) of the International Energy Agency (IEA), which aims at keeping global warming under 1.5\u00b0C, requires reducing by more than 20% both oil and gas production by 2030 (3). Yet, TotalEnergies plans to increase its fossil production by 2 to 3% per year until 2028 (4), relying on massive investments dedicated to new oil and gas projects in the coming decade (5). Therefore, with TotalEnergies\u2019 current oil and gas production targets, its production will exceed by more than 40% the level required to align with the NZE scenario. Moreover, TotalEnergies\u2019 targeted carbon intensity in 2030 is 20% higher than in the NZE scenario (6). Thus, TotalEnergies will produce too much oil and gas with too much emission per barrel.<\/p>\n

The NZE scenario further indicates that no new upstream oil and gas project, and no new LNG terminal are required to meet global energy needs (7). Similarly, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has confirmed that projected emissions from the planned lifetimes of existing fossil fuel infrastructures would significantly exceed the carbon budget remaining to meet the goal of limiting global warming to less than 1.5\u00b0C (8). Yet, to implement its strategy, TotalEnergies plans to develop new<\/i> fields and liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals in several countries (9), including in Papua New Guinea with the Papua LNG <\/i>project, comprising two new <\/i>gas fields and an LNG terminal.<\/p>\n

TotalEnergies\u2019 strategy and Papua LNG <\/i>project are thus clearly out of step with the recommendations of the international community on aligning with the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Is gas an adequate transition fuel to replace coal in Asia?<\/h2><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

TotalEnergies claims that its gas production will be part of the energy transition, as \u201creplacing coal by natural gas to produce electricity will halve the CO2 emissions<\/i>\u201d.<\/p>\n

While gas indeed produces less CO2 than coal when burned, the climate benefit of switching from coal to gas is uncertain when the emissions along the whole value chain are taken into consideration. Indeed, fossil gas is mostly composed of fossil methane, which has a Global Warming Potential 82.5 times higher than CO2 over a 20-year period (10). It takes a few percent of gas leakage to make gas as big a driver of climate change as coal in the short term (11).<\/p>\n

By contrast, replacing coal with sustainable energy would help countries in the Asia Pacific region provide competitive energy to their populations and industries. Indeed, sustainable energy is becoming increasingly competitive, as \u201ccosts of key clean energy technologies (\u2026) fell by close to 80% on a deployment weighted average basis between 2010 and 2022\u201d (12)<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Is TotalEnergies contributing to the energy transition in Papua New Guinea?<\/h2><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

TotalEnergies confirms its presence in the country will essentially consist of extracting the country\u2019s resources to export them to international markets, as \u201c95% of the gas will be exported and sold on Asian markets\u201d. <\/i><\/p>\n

The renewable energy projects it mentions in response to Le Monde will essentially benefit the Papua LNG<\/i> project. As mentioned, the combined-cycle gas turbine and a photovoltaic farm will supply the liquefaction terminal. The additional \u201coffer of photovoltaic production<\/i>\u201d will supply the \u201cproduction units and the mine<\/i>\u201d, as well as \u201chotels<\/i>\u201d and \u201cwarehouses<\/i>\u201d in the project area.<\/p>\n

The only renewable projects of TotalEnergies that will provide additional sources of energy to local communities are \u201cfree solarization of mini-networks for neighboring communities, the distribution of solar lamp kits, and charging of personal devices<\/i>\u201d. These measures will have a limited impact and cannot be considered as significantly contributing to a sustainable energy transition in the country, for which the Papua New Guinea government is actively seeking investments.<\/p>\n

A recent report showed that Papua New Guinea\u2019s government has already identified a host of potential renewable energy projects that, if they went ahead,would dramatically expand energy access in the country (13). The main obstacle is financing, but TotalEnergies has not indicated an intention to support these projects, despite their limited cost, estimated to represent 100 times less than the budget of the Papua LNG project (14)<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Can the project\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions be reduced?<\/h2><\/span>
<\/div><\/div><\/div>

TotalEnergies mentions two measures to reduce the project\u2019s direct CO2 emissions:<\/p>\n