Europe needs to acknowledge peak oil scenario – and plan accordingly

If the European Union does not sufficiently prepare for tomorrow’s new energy challenges, then it will lose out in the long-term to more creative economies, a conference in Brussels has been told.

According to one MEP, the inability to acknowledge limits to conventional oil exploration will not only mean losing out to more innovative economies, but also contribute to energy insecurity as current resources become more precious.

Speaking as part of the round table debate, The future of oil: how realistic is a post-oil society?, Belgian Green MEP Philippe Lamberts told the audience that the EU has three choices as it moves into a heavily energy-dependent future: engage in a state of denial, and carry-on as we are, acknowledge the current limits of our energy exploration or “anticipate, innovate and leap” forward in innovating the next phase in energy production.

“What are we after as Europeans?, who will be the business leaders of this century?” asked Lamberts. “This century will belong to the fast movers, the innovators. Leading that transformation is good for innovation, security of supply, makes you independent and resilient, good for competition… responding to those who are defending yesterday’s business models. The rest of the world is moving. If we don’t innovate, the decisions of the world will be made in Beijing. Is this the future we want?”

But, says John Corben of the International Energy Agency (IEA), European access to oils and gas is not under threat just yet. According to Corbern, the world has access to around three trillion barrels of crude oil, and has used about one third of that.

He also suggests that there is a potential of a further 2 trillion barrels of unconventional fuels, such as natural gas and shale oil. Corben suggests that the globe consumes 31 billion barrels of oil per year, but is  currently only exploiting about 14 billion barrels. His views were backed up by other industry figures, such as Isabelle Muller Secretary General of the European Petroleum Industry Association (EUROPIA), who suggested that casting uncertainty on the market will damage European business investment in the petroleum industry over the next for decades.

Philippe Lamberts, however, was not buying into the argument. “Business leaders are even more short-termist than politicians”, he contended.  “If we want to stay away from major conflicts on resources, we need to get away from these resources”

New Europe