Climatologist Valérie Masson-Delmotte on September 22, 2022, in Paris (AFP/Archives/FRANCK FIFE)
Liquefied gas (LNG), in which TotalEnergies notably invests a lot, also has an impact on global warming, sometimes even “undermining the benefit of converting from coal to gas”, climatologist Valérie Masson warned on Monday. -Delmotte, questioned in the Senate.
With its announced investment trajectory, TotalEnergies’ greenhouse gas emissions for the “scope 3” category (emissions linked to the use of its products by consumers) should be “constant in 2015-2030”, a she noted, before a senatorial commission responsible for working on the coherence between the action of TotalEnergies and France’s climate commitments. TotalEnergies is targeting less than 400 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2030, barely less than the 410 million tonnes in 2015.
“For me, this is the point of vigilance: with green investments, low-carbon electricity, planning for less oil marketing and a sharp increase in investments in the LNG sector, in the end, this “does not imply a reduction in Scope 3 emissions” from TotalEnergies, she stressed.
However, LNG has “a particularity, which is that it is less energy efficient, due to the need for liquefaction, transport… So the challenge here is to obtain reliable information on the net footprint” , explained the scientist.
Furthermore, on “everything associated with an increase in the marketing of gas, whatever it may be (in gaseous or liquid form, editor’s note), the issue is also fugitive emissions of methane: methane, gas powerful greenhouse effect, will have, depending on the rate of leaks, whether in production but also in distribution in poorly maintained or dilapidated gas networks, a climate penalty which can be extremely significant and undermine the benefit of a conversion from coal to gas. So that aspect is critical,” she said.
Furthermore, TotalEnergies “is a group which reports few risks linked to climate change for its own activities. But in reality, the physical risks of a changing climate are not for TotalEnergies’ infrastructures in the short term, there are increasing risks of loss and damage on a global scale, also carrying legal risks for such a company and its investors, noted the former co-president of one of the three IPCC groups.
Finally, “the bet on a capacity to deploy capture and storage (of carbon, to compensate for emissions, Editor’s note) has been very often put forward by fossil fuel players. The reality is not at all up to par of this display. So it’s a form of greenwashing, ultimately, or technowashing.”
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