More Oil! More Gas! Weeee!

When I think I’ve spotted something that looks like greenwashing, I often have a moment of doubt. It sometimes requires a bit of reading-between-the-lines which I’m not typically great at, so it makes me wonder if what I’m interpreting is my own skewed opinion that is way off, or if I’m actually reading it exactly right.

This article was one of those times – if you don’t read it, it’s not classic greenwashing in the way that you might see it from a business. The article is about a recent visit to Aus by KPMG’s Global Head of Energy, Regina Mayor (who’s based in the US). In the article, she’s quoted as saying that more companies should invest in more oil and gas projects.

At first it sounds like she’s suggesting a slow transition to net-zero, but it’s thinly veiled and in fact what she’s saying (in my interpretation anyway) is that new oil and gas projects should never end. She actually encouraged Australia to keep digging and capitalise on our “natural resources” (a term sometimes used to make digging up oil and gas sound lovely).

All the pathways to net-zero currently include a transition period – a bunch of years (not many!) where we still use oil and gas while we build smarter and cleaner options. But none of them require new oil and gas projects – it’s entirely possible to get by with the projects already in place combined with the reserves around the world, until the renewables take over.

It’d be easy to hear someone in her position speak on stage and accept what she’s saying as truth – her title alone comes with a significant whack of authority.

But hearing so many other voices that also carry lots of authority speaking about how critical the transition away from new oil and gas projects is – along with very convincing graphs, Powerpoints, and Ted Talks – I have to lump the KPMG speech into the greenwash basket.

If you read the article, I’d love to hear your thoughts.