Shell has implemented voluntary reductions on emissions from its refineries, said Shell Oil Co. Pres. John Hofmeister, who is calling for governments to set mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
Speaking at a Rice University forum on carbon dioxide in Houston Jan. 31, Hofmeister said governments must take the lead in establishing regulatory frameworks within which companies can compete equally.
“And we don’t have that yet today in the United States of America and in many countries around the world,” he said. “Government leadership is necessary to establish what those standards should be. This is one reason why Shell is publicly, nationally calling for a United States cap on all sorts of emissions, but primarily CO2, so that companies have to work in harmony to achieve that.”
Meanwhile, companies can voluntarily reduce GHG emissions, Hofmeister noted. In 1997, Royal Dutch Shell PLC made a commitment to reduce its worldwide CO2 footprint to 5% below 1990 levels by 2010 as part of its efforts to provide cleaner energy.
“Today, our footprint of CO2 emissions as a worldwide company, including locally here in the Houston area, is below 1990 levels,” he said. That achievement has cost Shell billions of dollars worldwide.
“But that makes us less competitive, because these are costs that our shareholders must bear that some of our competitors are not bearing,” Hofmeister said.
Need for standards
Houston Mayor Bill White said refiners have made progress on CO2 emissions, but he noted government still needs to set standards on other emissions coming from petrochemical plants and refineries.
“We don’t have good standards in Houston for a couple of the chemicals that need to be regulated,” White said. “Benzene is one of them. People at other levels of government don’t want the city to [establish such regulations].... Most states have some rules. It’s only fair that there be clear rules that apply to all firms, otherwise why can one firm justify to its shareholders making an investment?”
Industry can reduce emissions, White said, noting that nitrogen oxides emissions fell significantly in 15 years because there are standards regulating NOx emissions. Shell’s worldwide NOx emissions were 180,000 tonnes in 2006, a 20% reduction since 1997, its web site indicated.
Shell managers tour US
Hofmeister and 250 Shell managers visited 50 US cities in 18 months speaking to public audiences about energy issues and answering questions about Shell’s program to find new ways to manage the environmental impact of producing and using fossil fuels.
“America runs on energy, and the amount of energy necessary to run America is not decreasing,” Hofmeister said. The US relies heavily on hydrocarbons.
“In producing that gasoline or in producing that coal, there are very difficult consequences for the environment, which requires leadership to manage, corporate leadership, government leadership, academic leadership,” he said.