Renewable Energy conference: peak oil and climate change

…”The success of our societies has been built on cheap oil. That in turn – in terms of the consumption of fossil fuel, and not just oil but coal and gas and so on – has led to the climate change we’re currently experiencing. It’s led to the water shortages, the whole thing is linked.”

We’re at a crossroads, he says; climate always changes, but humans are now pushing the change, rather than reacting to it, and changes are starting to speed up. We’re facing a choke-point in oil production where we can’t increase supply to meet growing demand any more.


“These two are linked,” Mr Dunlop says.

“They are converging, and we have to be careful that the solutions to one complement and don’t affect the solutions to the other.

“For example, if the solution to peak oil is more coal, we have a climate change problem that’s even more extreme than we’re currently seeing, so we need a holistic approach to this.”

He says we are also fast approaching the point where drastic action must be taken.

“It’s happening, whatever the sceptics might say,” he says.

ABC (Australia)