Greg Muttitt
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Articles by Greg Muttitt
Fuel on the Fire: oil and politics in Iraq
The author of Fuel on the Fire will talk about lessons from Iraq on oil, war and democracy. Greg Muttitt is campaigns and policy director at War on Want and the author of Fuel on the Fire: oil and politics in occupied Iraq.
Opinion: The world no longer needs new fossil fuels, and the UK could lead the way in making them taboo
North Sea oil and gas has become a battleground issue in the UK general election. The Labour party's manifesto promises an end to issuing new licenses for finding oil and gas. The Conservative party, meanwhile, proposes a law that would require the next government to hold a licensing round every year. Our recent study has found that new fossil fuels are not needed, and that stopping the extraction of new coal, oil and gas is among the best ways to tackle the climate crisis.
The world no longer needs fossil fuels - and the UK could lead the way in making them taboo
North Sea oil and gas has become a battleground issue in the UK general election. The Labour party’s manifesto promises an end to issuing new licenses for finding oil and gas. The Conservative party meanwhile proposes a law that would require the next government to hold a licensing round every year. Our recent study found that new fossil fuels are not needed, and that stopping the extraction of new coal, oil and gas is among the best ways to tackle the climate crisis.
We Are on Course for a Very Dangerous Amount of Warming-But There Is Still Time to Change Course
On Monday 3 December, an event at the COP 28 conference highlighted findings from the United Nations' Environment Programme (UNEP)'s Emissions Gap Report 2023. As well as revealing the scale of the disparity between current emissions trajectories and the targets set out under the Paris Agreement, this year's report warns that the world is heading for a temperature rise of about 3C by the end of the century unless countries now deliver more than they have already promised to tackle climate change.
We Are on Course for a Very Dangerous Amount of Warming-But There Is Still Time to Change Course
On Monday, December 3, an event at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) conference highlighted findings from United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) Emissions Gap Report 2023.
How energy transition affects jobs - Nature Climate Change
Concrete analysis of job impacts is needed to inform efforts for a just transition. Now, a study finds that decarbonizing US electricity generation will create jobs, but with uneven distribution among states, industrial sectors and skill needs. Although much of the discussion regarding just transition has been about process, fairness, inclusion and social dialogue2, there is also a need for solid evidence for decision-making.
How quickly does the world need to ‘phase down’ all fossil fuels?
India and China were widely criticised at COP26 in 2021 when they pushed to tone down the language on coal consumption that emerged from the climate summit. As a result of this intervention from two highly coal-dependent nations, with the covert support of other key players, the final version of the Glasgow Climate Pact only called on nations to “phase down” rather than “phase out” unabated coal power.
Socio-political feasibility of coal power phase-out and its role in mitigation pathways - Nature Climate Change
Abstract In IPCC pathways limiting warming to 1.5 °C, global coal power generation declines rapidly due to its emissions intensity and substitutability. However, we find that in countries heavily dependent on coal—China, India and South Africa—this translates to a national decline twice as rapid as that achieved historically for any power technology in any country, relative to system size. This raises questions about socio-political feasibility.
Lighting the Path: What IPCC energy pathways tell us about Paris-aligned policies and investments
The evaporating case for gas If we want a power system dominated by clean, renewable energy, we need lots of natural gas - or so we are told. This drumbeat, which has set up gas as a "critical transition fuel", has been meted out by government ministers, the oil and gas lobby, some serious researchers and everyone of varying degrees of cynicism in between.
Countries Must Phase Out Oil and Gas Production-and Quickly
How fast do we need to phase out fossil fuels to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and safeguard our planet’s future? This question is central to planning effective climate action. IISD commissioned climate scientists at the Tyndall Centre at The University of Manchester to help answer this question, especially in relation to oil and gas production.
How can Britain be committed to net zero when it’s about to drill for millions more barrels of oil?
Just months before hosting the Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow, the UK government will decide whether to approve a massive new oilfield 75 miles north-west of Shetland. Boris Johnson has hinted at a likely go-ahead. The Cambo field, being developed by private-equity-owned Siccar Point and Shell, would produce 170m barrels of oil - oil the...
Gas Is Not a Bridge Fuel, It’s a Wall. So Why Are Governments Still Financing It?
At this week's meeting of G7 leaders, fossil fuels are on the agenda. Governments have agreed to phase out financing for "carbon-intensive" energy projects but have so far failed to adopt a clear timeline to end support to oil and gas. This is a serious blind spot: gas projects receive more international public finance in low- and middle-income countries than any other energy source, four times as much as wind or solar.
OUR BURNING PLANET OP-ED: Step Off the Gas: Access to renewable energy in Global South starting to eclipse fossil fuel legitimacy
(Photo: Unsplash / Chris Leboutilier) The Step Off the Gas report examines international public finance for natural gas expansion in the Global South and the choices countries face in how to develop their energy systems while meeting socioeconomic needs. The report assesses economic and environmental risks from gas development, the status of alternatives to gas, and how to overcome challenges for the South in developing clean energy.
Countries need to phase out fossil fuels. Here’s how to do it fairly.
By Greg Muttitt and Sivan Kartha Staying within climate limits requires restricting fossil fuel extraction as well as demand. But where and how should it be restricted? Our new paper proposes five principles for equitably managing a phase-out of extraction. ===== The COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up the global energy economy. Wealthy countries have scrambled to support their own fossil fuel industries: Another tar sands pipeline bought with public money in Canada.
60 years on, OPEC should take control again, cut supply, raise prices to fund its Transition
OPEC is often seen as no friend of the Transition. But Greg Muttitt at Oil Change International points out that, although it did take an anti-climate stance in the 1990s, by the 2000s it had stepped back from climate negotiations, while some OPEC members became supporters. Muttitt says that, celebrating its 60th anniversary, it’s time for OPEC to remember its roots and organise its members to take control of their own destiny in the face of the inevitable rise of clean energy across the globe.
UK oil & gas keeps rising. Clean Energy blueprint can reverse it
In the UK the £2.3bn (=$2.9bn / €2.6bn) in new oil and gas subsidies introduced since 2014 will state-fund the addition of twice as much carbon as its coal phaseout saves, says a new report “Sea Change: Climate Emergency, Jobs and Managing the Phase-out of UK Oil and Gas Extraction”. Can the UK call itself a climate leader if its existing policies push it over its emissions limits?
Shell Emissions Still Going Up, Despite Accounting Device
Tomorrow at Shell’s annual meeting of shareholders, the oil giant is likely to claim to be a climate leader. It will probably highlight the company’s target for its “net carbon footprint” to be 2 to 3 percent lower in 2021 than in 2016. Shell says its “ambition is explicitly designed to be consistent with the emission reductions needed to meet the goal of the Paris Agreement.” Let’s have a look at how this claim holds up.
UK oil and gas: climate emergency, jobs and the need for a managed phase-out
Our new report reveals, for the first time, the climate impact of North Sea oil and gas extraction, and shows the way to a job-creating energy transition. To deal with the climate emergency, the UK needs to immediately stop approving new oil and gas drilling and redirect support to clean jobs and renewable energy.
The UK’s net-zero target must address oil and gas extraction too
Today, the UK government’s official adviser updated its advice on the UK’s long-term climate target. The Committee on Climate Change recommended that the UK reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, and Scotland by 2045. This was a powerful acknowledgment of the inadequacy of the previous target set in 2008 (for an 80% reduction), and it reiterated that the government is not moving fast enough. However, the Committee ignored the elephant in the room: UK oil and gas extraction.
Our Shop
All That Glitters: Sport, BP and Repression in Azerbaijan by Emma Hughes and James Marriott (2015) RRP £5.99 – Our Price only £5! All That Glitters explores how the 2015 European Games belong to Azerbaijan’s Aliyev regime and the British oil company BP and how sport is being co-opted in the service of a dynasty and fossil fuels. So provocative that author Emma Hughes was banned from Azerbaijan on the eve of the Games.
The IEA comes up short on climate (again)
photo: IEA The release of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2018 marks another missed opportunity for the International Energy Agency (IEA) to provide a roadmap to Paris, writes Greg Muttitt of NGO Oil Change International. According to Muttitt, even the WEO’s “sustainable development scenario” falls well short of the Paris goals. Policymakers and investors cannot rely on the WEO to guide their decisions in energy.
The IEA Comes Up Short on Climate (Again) - Oil Change International
Today’s release of the World Energy Outlook (WEO) 2018 marked another missed opportunity for the International Energy Agency (IEA) to provide a roadmap to Paris success. Governments and investors alike have been calling on the IEA to help guide them towards achievement of the Paris goals. Two years ago, the IEA itself proposed updating its climate scenario to match the ambition of the Paris goals, and also gave its updated scenarios a cameo in the WEO 2017.
Aligning the IEA Sustainable Development Scenario to Paris goals
What changes will Fatih Birol announce for 2018’s IEA Sustainable Development Scenario? Photo: IICEC As part of its World Energy Outlook 2018 report, on 13 November the International Energy Agency will publish its latest Sustainable Development Scenario that it claims shows governments and companies how to reach Paris’ climate change goals.
Saudi Aramco - the Climate Story - Oil Change International
For oil watchers, one of the biggest stories of the year, or maybe decade, has been the proposal to privatise five percent of Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company. Reuters broke news on Wednesday that the high-profile Initial Public Offering (IPO) has been shelved, and the advisory teams disbanded. The Saudi government has said it is still “committed” to the IPO, but will only proceed “at a time of its own choosing”.
Towards an Oil Exploration Ban in Ireland - Oil Change International
Last week I had the honour of presenting evidence to the Irish parliamentary committee that is scrutinising the country’s proposed Climate Emergency Measures Bill, to end all new oil and gas exploration licenses. (See edited video below (5 min) or full here (12 min), statement or slides).
Shell on Earth: Why Shell Fails on Climate - Oil Change International
At the end of this month, the deadline expires for Shell to set out its plans to align with the Paris goals before Dutch environmental groups begin legal action. In a previous blog, I explored Shell’s failure to align with the Paris goals from an investor perspective. In this post I’ll focus more on the moral (and potentially legal) dimensions of Shell’s climate plans.
OFF TRACK: The IEA and Climate Change - Oil Change International
How the International Energy Agency Guides Energy Decisions towards Fossil Fuel Dependence and Climate Change Published by Oil Change International and the Institute for Energy Efficiency and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), April 5, 2018 See also: briefing for investors The International Energy Agency (IEA) is the world’s most influential source of energy information.
Shell Game: What Shell Gets Wrong in Its New Climate Report
On Monday, Shell released a new report describing how the world might achieve the Paris goals. The report described a scenario called “Sky,” painting a picture of a possible future. It’s a future full of fossil fuels: in 2050, it has oil, gas and coal use at respectively 88%, 93%, and 62% of their current levels. Shell describes this as a “rapid energy transition.” Hardly. (See graph) Not Aligned With Paris Goals How can such a future be aligned with the Paris goals? The answer is that it’s not.
The International Energy Agency Is Steering The World To Climate Disaster
The International Energy Agency (IEA) likes to present itself as a climate champion, but it is in fact steering the energy system towards catastrophic levels of warming, writes Greg Muttitt, Senior Advisor at NGO Oil Change International. The IEA is supposed to be an advisory body to its members countries, Muttit notes, but its real masters appear to be the fossil fuel companies. The International Energy Agency (IEA) likes to see itself as a bit of a climate champion.
How the International Energy Agency is steering world to climate disaster
The International Energy Agency (IEA) likes to present itself as a climate champion, but it is in fact steering the energy system towards catastrophic levels of warming, writes Greg Muttitt, Senior Advisor at NGO Oil Change International. The IEA is supposed to be an advisory body to its members countries, Muttit notes, but its real masters appear to be the fossil fuel companies. The International Energy Agency (IEA) likes to see itself as a bit of a climate champion.
Why the IEA still gets it wrong on fossil fuels
The IEA (International Energy Agency) has produced a remarkable and alarming report, together with IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), warning that “unprecedented” and “unparalleled” efforts are necessary “immediately” and “across all countries” to stave off climate disaster. Yet it still sees a significant role for fossil fuels in 2050. How is this possible?
International Energy Agency still gets it wrong on fossil fuels
carbon capture and storage (artist impression) The IEA (International Energy Agency) has produced a remarkable and alarming report, together with IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency), warning that “unprecedented” and “unparalleled” efforts are necessary “immediately” and “across all countries” to stave off climate disaster. Yet it still sees a significant role for fossil fuels in 2050. How is this possible?
What the IEA Got Wrong on Its Energy Outlook
By Greg MuttittWe welcomed last week the first step by the International Energy Agency (IEA) towards describing how energy would look for the world to meet one of the Paris Agreement goals, to keep warming well below 2°C. Specifically, it looked at emissions being limited enough to give a two-in-three chance of staying below 2°C.The report was co-published by IEA and its clean energy counterpart, the International Renewable Energy Agency, and commissioned by the German government.
Why the International Energy Agency Still Gets It Wrong on Fossil Fuels - Oil Change International
On Monday, we welcomed the first step by the International Energy Agency towards describing how energy would look for the world to meet one of the Paris Agreement goals, to keep warming well below 2°C. Specifically, it looked at emissions being limited enough to give a 2-in-3 chance of staying below 2°C. The report was co-published by IEA and its clean energy counterpart IRENA and commissioned by the German government. The two agencies are also working on a 1.5°C scenario, to be published in June.
Forecasting Failure: Why Investors Should Treat Oil Company Energy Forecasts With Caution - Oil Change International
Forecasting Failure: Why Investors Should Treat Oil Company Energy Forecasts With Caution Companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and BP routinely use their in-house energy forecasts to justify investments in multi-decade, high-cost projects, from the Arctic to the tar sands. While the companies present their published forecasts as objective analyses, the forecasts rather reflect the future they want us to believe in.
Fuel on the Fire: oil and politics in Iraq
Browser does not support script. Browser does not support script. Browser does not support script. Loading the player... Browser does not support script. Download : Audio, Video Speaker(s): Greg Muttitt Chair: Kristian Ulrichsen Recorded on 8 May 2012 at New Theatre, East Building The author of Fuel on the Fire will talk about lessons from Iraq on oil, war and democracy.
The Sky’s Limit: Why the Paris Climate Goals Require a Managed Decline of Fossil Fuel Production
Oil Change International, in collaboration with 350.org, Amazon Watch, APMDD, AYCC, Bold Alliance, Christian Aid, Earthworks, Équiterre, Global Catholic Climate Movement, HOMEF, Indigenous Environmental Network, IndyAct, Rainforest Action Network, and Stand.earth September 2016 DOWNLOAD REPORT A new study released by Oil Change International, in partnership with 14 organizations from around the world, scientifically grounds the growing movement to keep carbon in the ground by revealing the...
My 350 on BREXIT: Not my country
The referendum was subverted into a push for ethnic cleansing. No-one stopped it and no-one will undo it now.. WHY? When the cowards ran away some of the politicians who were jockeying to replace them were going “Pick me! Pick me! I can help heal the scars..” Me, I'm not 'healing' a racist England. Those who became 'the 52%' after thirty complicit years of being stoked, herded and prodded are loathesome. Generations battled racism.
DemocraciaAbierta, one year on
We have selected 10 articles among the most successful with our readers during this first year. They are fair examples of what democraciaAbierta is up to. democraciaAbierta has been publishing for one year now. After more than 250 original articles, published in at least two of our three working languages (Spanish, Portuguese, and – always - English) we have been able to build a significant readership in Latin America, in Europe and across the world.
Chilcot's blind spot: Iraq War report buries oil evidence, fails to address motive
When the UK invaded, Iraq had nearly a tenth of the world's oil reserves -- and government documents "explicitly state" oil was a consideration before the war. Why didn't Chilcot explore it further? The long-awaited Chilcot Report was finally released today, examining the UK’s involvement in the Iraq War and occupation. Unfortunately, on the most important question, the report’s conclusions are all but silent: why did the UK go to war?
Oil Change International
The rejection of Keystone XL today marks a turning point for energy decisions: in future, policymakers will be under pressure to consider climate impacts of any new policies and infrastructure. But it is not only setting a bar for future energy decisions: the climate impact of stopping this pipeline is real. Last week we released analysis finding that the existing pipelines out of Alberta are already 89% full: if no more are built, tar sands production cannot grow.
New Internationalist
Oil companies say they want to help tackle climate change. Their history of denial, delay and distortion shows we shouldn’t believe a word of it, writes Greg Muttitt . Drowned out by Big Oil: 13-year-old Laurel from Children Against Global Warming performs inside the BP-sponsored British Museum in September 2015, as part of the growing movement against oil sponsorship.
Goulot d'étranglement pour les sables bitumineux
Construction du pipeline Énergie Est de TransCanada Photo : TransCanada À défaut de construire de nouveaux pipelines sur le continent nord-américain, la production du pétrole provenant des sables bitumineux plafonnera en 2017. C'est du moins la conclusion d'une étude d'Oil Change International, un groupe de recherche basé à Washington. Avec l'opposition citoyenne grandissante aux pipelines, les pétrolières canadiennes seront peut-être forcées à la stagnation.
Shell and BP on course for extreme warming levels
Europe’s two largest oil and gas companies – which recently urged action on climate change – are still basing their projections for fossil fuel use on scenarios which would see catastrophic levels of global warming according to a new Energydesk analysis. This came soon after Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of UNFCCC process urged EU oil majors – including BP and Shell, to be more ambitious on climate change.
UK Budget: Will it be More Corporate Welfare for Oil?
This blog was written jointly with Mika Minio-Paluello of Platform Over recent months, the UK oil industry has waged an all-out lobbying war for more tax breaks. They complain that they are suffering from the fall in oil prices, and they need help from the government if they are to survive. So in tomorrow’s Budget, Chancellor George Osborne has indicated there will be some oily handouts. In austerity Britain, there are plenty of people who are genuinely suffering.
BP Out of Touch on Climate and Clean Energy Technology - Oil Change International
(This blog was written in collaboration with Jenny Banks, Climate & Energy Specialist at WWF UK) Yesterday BP published its 2035 Outlook for Energy, the company’s view of what the future of energy might look like. Once upon a time, oil companies liked to portray themselves as being at the cutting edge of science and technology. Today BP did the opposite, downplaying the seriousness of climate change, and dismissing fast-advancing clean energy technologies.
Exxon’s optimistic oil outlook: forecast or fantasy?
On the day government ministers landed in Lima, Peru, for the COP20 climate talks, ExxonMobil suggested they might as well all go straight back home. The company’s economists have done their calculations and found that fossil fuels will continue expanding for the coming decades. So the ministers are wasting their time trying to save the climate. Today ExxonMobil released its Outlook for Energy, which it has published annually since 2005.
Oil Change International
Download our analysis of the Exxon Outlook here On the day government ministers landed in Lima, Peru, for the COP20 climate talks, ExxonMobil suggested they might as well all go straight back home. The company’s economists have done their calculations and found that fossil fuels will continue expanding for the coming decades. So the ministers are wasting their time trying to save the climate. Today ExxonMobil released its Outlook for Energy, which it has published annually since 2005.
OPEC in the age of climate change
Greg Muttitt is author of Fuel on the Fire: Oil and Politics in Occupied Iraq. Thursday's OPEC meeting in Vienna was widely billed as the most important in years. OPEC ministers decided to resist calls to cut their oil production in response to the fall in oil prices since June. After three years of holding steady around $110 a barrel, oil had dropped below $80. Within minutes of their decision, the price fell by another $5.
Black Friday demonstrations hit Walmart
US workers seeking higher pay have staged demonstrations across the country targeting the global retail giant Walmart, on the same day Americans traditionally start their holiday shopping. For the third straight year, hundreds of workers demonstrated on Friday outside thousands of locations of Walmart, accusing the US largest private employer of paying wages below living standards. Al Jazeera's Tom Ackerman, reporting from Washington DC, said demonstrators were demanding a $15 an hour wage.
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