Holy smoke! It’s not often that an individual representing more than 1.2 billion people—that’s one in seven of the world’s population—starts commenting on the future of oil and gas.

So when a spiritual leader as influential to so many Roman Catholics as Pope Francis discusses climate change, backed by peer-reviewed science and environmental analysis, the E&P industry needs to show its mettle because otherwise it will once again be labeled as the chief culprit.

The industry needs to demonstrate it also is part of the solution.

When Pope Francis addressed the environment issue in late June via his papal encyclical, he described it as one of the “principal challenges facing humanity.” That encyclical is now part of the church’s teaching. Ironically, he did not discuss population growth, a driver of soaring energy demand.

This is to be expected leading up to the United Nations’ Conference on Climate Change, COP21, taking place in Paris at the end of the year.

Michael Engell-Jensen, executive director for the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP), did a great job in highlighting three factors governing the world’s energy future:
• The need to respond to climate change, i.e. burning less carbon;
• The need for affordable energy for all; and
• The need for secure energy supplies.

“While each of these factors is essential, they form a trilemma,” Engell-Jensen said. “The fundamental challenge is how to balance these three elements. IOGP needs to add discussion of this trilemma to the climate change debate.”

He added that IOGP is committed to communicating the role the industry can play in solving the challenge while simultaneously meeting growing energy demand. “Natural gas, in particular, will be crucial in limiting CO2 emissions,” he said in a prepared response. “For example, switching from coal to gas in power production can halve that sector’s carbon footprint.”

He couldn’t resist pointing out some energy truths, namely that oil and gas provide abundant, affordable and reliable energy to billions of people and that, according to the International Energy Agency, demand will double by 2050, with oil and gas forecast to meet up to 60% of it.

The E&P sector has long recognized and acknowledged the risks of climate change due to rising emissions, resulting from fast-growing energy requirements. The long-term objective of climate change policy, IOGP said, should be to reduce the risk of serious impacts on society and ecosystems, while recognizing the importance of reliable affordable energy.

With comments on the oil and gas industry coming from such influential individuals as Pope Francis, this is an objective we ourselves need to preach like our own gospel as widely as we can or else accept the consequences.

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