Fundamentalists are influencing the industry to transition away from burning ancient organic matter, a resources leader said.
Worley recently expressed concern about the sector increasingly abandoning fossil fuels. The company suggested environmental activists have pressured mineral producers into seeking renewable energy alternatives to meet so-called net zero targets and address the global energy crisis.
“We have lost control of the narrative. Those, who are maybe at one extreme or the other, have got control and as a result of that we do not have a balanced, informed, accurate narrative,” Worley CEO Chris Ashton said according to News Limited.
Ashton believes rapidly replacing fossil fuels with solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power is not the best strategy even if Europe has a gas shortfall.
“If you look at energy prices and the energy shock in Europe, yes, it was caused by Russia invading Ukraine but there are some out there who believe there isn’t a future for gas in the transition,” Ashton said according to the media outlet.
“We [not only] have to communicate the need for a managed just transition but a deliberate approach to transitioning to zero and low-carbon energy sources over the next 28 years.”
Ashton and Fortescue Future Industries chief financial officer Guy Debelle believe federally funded incentives would promote more hydrogen and direct air capture projects.
“Ashton and Debelle said the Biden administration’s new Inflation Reduction Act had created incentives, particularly in hydrogen and direct air capture … [and] Europe has similarly generous programs,” Fairfax Media reported.
“Australian governments may need to consider similar programs if we are to capitalise on our natural resources advantages.”
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