‘Exceptional’ oil boom on crash course with decarbonisation drive

‘Exceptional’ oil boom on crash course with decarbonisation drive

One thing to start: Oil prices continued their march higher, with West Texas Intermediate yesterday topping $85 a barrel for the first time in seven years.

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The United Nations’ COP26 climate talks in Glasgow kick off in just five days. As emissions soar, it may be one of the last opportunities for genuine, concerted action to avert damaging climate change. And the tidal wave of pledges, platitudes and PR stunts is mounting.

Saudi Arabia joined the global fray of countries making net zero commitments, vowing to reach the milestone by 2060 with the help of carbon capture technology. Notably, however, the world’s biggest exporter of oil has no plans to cut those lucrative crude sales.

In the US, Democrats are engaged in a last ditch scramble to push pared down climate legislation over the line before the conference begins — so that President Joe Biden does not arrive in Glasgow empty handed. 

In Texas, meanwhile, the green deluge is ruffling feathers. UN secretary-general António Guterres suggested the state would need to shift away from oil and gas in order to remain prosperous in the coming decades. This was Governor Greg Abbott’s response:

For those unfamiliar with the Americanism “pound sand”, this