adplus-dvertising
Connect with us

News

Investing in oil and gas still important, IEA deputy head tells Calgary crowd

Published

 on

CALGARY – Investments in oil and gas production are important and must continue in tandem with increased investment in renewable and clean technologies, the deputy head of the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

Mary Burce Warlick made the comments in Calgary, the corporate heart of Canada’s oil and gas sector, just a week after the Paris-based IEA released its most recent forecast for global energy demand.

The IEA said in that forecast that demand for all three fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — is set to peak by the end of this decade. It also predicted a potential oversupply of both oil and liquefied natural gas in the second half of the 2020s.

But Warlick said in her speech in Calgary that she understands the concerns people have about the energy transition in jurisdictions where jobs and livelihoods depend on fossil fuels. She said it’s important to understand that continued investment in oil and gas, in particular, will continue to be “important and necessary” for a period of time.

“We currently have two energy economies, in a way, that need to be carefully balanced, even as we are trying to drive and accelerate the investments in renewables and clean energy technologies,” Warlick said.

“But as I said, our scenarios show a peaking in oil and gas and coal by 2030 … and that means that even as the investment and production continues in that sector, it will be important for companies to be thinking about how they will respond to markets as they begin to change.”

The IEA was founded in 1974 in response to the 1973-74 oil crisis. Its aim was to prevent future oil shocks by providing analysis, data and policy recommendations to help countries around the world provide secure and sustainable energy

Today, the organization comprises 31 member countries and provides research and forecasts on all sources of energy, both fossil-sourced as well as renewable and clean technologies.

Among major energy forecasters, the IEA’s predictions for the speed and pace at which the energy transition will happen tend to be more bullish than others.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration does not see “peak oil” coming until after 2030, for example, while the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries does not foresee oil plateauing until at least 2045.

When it comes to the short-term strength of oil demand growth, the IEA predicts global growth of just under 900,000 barrels per day in 2024. The U.S. Energy Administration Information is calling for growth of 900,000 barrels per day, while OPEC has called for total growth of 1.9 million barrels per day in 2024.

Because the IEA’s forecasts around the net-zero transition are seen as more aggressive than those of other agencies, its reports aren’t always popular in Alberta’s oil country.

Many in the province’s oil and gas industry believe the energy transition cannot feasibly and affordably happen in the time period that the IEA suggests.

Chris Severson-Baker — the executive director of the Pembina Institute, which hosted Tuesday’s event in Calgary — said he knew that inviting Warlick to speak in Alberta could be seen as a controversial choice.

“We as a province are really well positioned for a scenario in which the world does not move at pace to dealing with climate change … but we’re not prepared for the one in which the world is moving quickly towards a net-zero future,” Severson-Baker said.

Still, Warlick said Canada is already a leader in things like methane emission reductions as well as carbon capture and storage. She said Canadians shouldn’t assume that they won’t benefit economically from the energy transition.

“We believe, based on our analysis, that moving from today’s energy system into one that’s increasingly electrified will, over time, be much more affordable … but there will be ups and downs in the transition in terms of getting there,” she said.

She added the IEA’s own data shows half of energy workers globally now are employed in clean energy sectors. She said while it will be important to support workers through the energy transition, the IEA’s research shows job creation associated with clean energy technologies currently outweighs fossil fuel-related job losses.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Ontario government engineers to withdraw services from Highway 413, Bradford Bypass

Published

 on

 

TORONTO – A group of professional engineers plan to soon withdraw services from key Ontario infrastructure projects Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass as part of a bargaining dispute with the province.

Members of the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario, which represents more than 600 professional engineers and land surveyors who work for the province, started a work-to-rule campaign earlier this month.

Members’ earnings have fallen so far behind that they sometimes earn half of what people in similar positions at municipalities make, their bargaining association said. They are behind the market by 30 to 50 per cent, said president Nihar Bhatt.

So far no meaningful progress has been made in bargaining with the Treasury Board Secretariat even though the engineers have been without a contract for 20 months, Bhatt said. He did not give a specific percentage increase he is looking for but said it is “significant.”

“This bargaining is just the culmination of a decade long of talks on this issue, and suddenly, when they realize how far behind the market they are, they’re like, ‘Oh, these numbers are, like, really big,'” Bhatt said.

“Yeah, they are because you ignored it for a decade, and this is where we are. So that’s the problem and the infrastructure agenda of the province, whether it be new stuff or existing, both need to be overseen by people who know what they’re doing.”

The engineers have been engaging in a work-to-rule campaign, which includes not doing unpaid overtime or working outside of their set hours, but will now be escalating their job action.

Starting in the next few days, a small group of engineers will stop working on the two highway projects that are loudly championed by Premier Doug Ford.

“So right now, the impacts are gonna be felt in the planning and design stages of the projects, which is where both 413 and Bradford Bypass are at,” Bhatt said.

“There are some major milestones coming up in the next few weeks which should impact projects in the long run.”

A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said the government has held numerous bargaining sessions with PEGO since July 2023.

“The government has been negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so,” Liz Tuomi said in a statement, adding that all ministries have continuity plans in case of labour action.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

Russia is behind viral disinformation targeting Walz, intelligence official says

Published

 on

WASHINGTON (AP) — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.

The content, which includes baseless accusations about the Minnesota governor’s time as a teacher, contains several indications that it was manipulated, said the official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

Analysts identified clues that linked the content to Russian disinformation operations, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the office of the director.

Digital researchers had already linked the video to Russia, but Tuesday’s announcement is the first time federal authorities have confirmed the connection.

The disinformation targeting Walz is consistent with Russian disinformation seeking to undermine the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, her running mate. Russia also has spread disinformation aimed at stoking discord and division ahead of voting, officials said, and may seek to encourage violent protests after Election Day.

Last month, analysts at Microsoft revealed that a viral video that baselessly claimed Harris left a woman paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident 13 years ago was Russian disinformation. More recently, a video surfaced featuring a man claiming to be a former student of Walz’s who accused the candidate of sexual misconduct years ago. Private researchers at firms that track disinformation, including NewsGuard, already have concluded the video was fake and that the man in the footage isn’t who he claimed to be.

The Associated Press contacted a former employer of the man whose identity was used in the video. The employer, Viktor Yeliohin, confirmed the man shown in the video was an impostor.

Some researchers have also suggested the video may contain evidence that it was created using artificial intelligence, but federal officials stopped short of the same conclusion, saying only that the video contained multiple indications of manipulation.

China and Iran also have sought to influence the U.S. election using online disinformation. While Russia has targeted the Democratic campaign, Iran has gone after Republican Donald Trump with disinformation as well as hacking into the former president’s campaign. China, meanwhile, has focused its influence efforts on down-ballot races, and on general efforts to sow distrust and democratic dissatisfaction.

There is no indication that Russia, China or Iran are plotting significant attacks on election infrastructure as a way to disrupt the outcome, officials said Tuesday.

Jen Easterly, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, has said improvements to election security mean there is no way any other foreign adversary will be able to alter the results.

Russia, China and Iran have all rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the U.S. election. Messages left with the Russian Embassy seeking comment on the Walz video were not immediately returned Tuesday.

—-

Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin contributed to this report from New York.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

News

Kuwait bans ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 6’ video game, likely over it featuring Saddam Hussein in 1990s

Published

 on

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.

Kuwait has not publicly acknowledged banning the game, which is a tentpole product for the Microsoft-owned developer Activision and is set to be released on Friday worldwide. However, it comes as Kuwait still wrestles with the aftermath of the invasion and as video game makers more broadly deal with addressing historical and cultural issues in their work.

The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.

There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.

Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.

“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”

Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.

“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.

But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending