Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) ’s Post

On June 3rd, President Yoon Suk Yeol announced a plan to explore #oil and #gas off South Korea’s east coast.     The drilling plans represent a step backward at a time of #climatecrisis. Notably, the plan: ❗ Threatens to unleash a carbon bomb, with potential emissions over seven times the country's annual emissions. ❗ Contradicts Korea’s latest electricity policy, which aims to halve the country’s gas generation by 2038.  ❗ Jeopardizes Korea’s commitment to the Global Methane Pledge. The new offshore gas extraction could produce 8 to 32 million tons of methane emissions, up to 32 times more than current levels.     We urge the South Korean government to cancel these plans and focus on investing in forward-looking renewables to enhance energy security and sustainability.  

🚨NEW E3G blog! Ahead of the 6th October LNG Producer-Consumer Conference in Hiroshima, our latest blog looks at Japan’s plans to hook Southeast Asia on #gas. As Japan’s domestic gas demand declines, it is ramping up efforts to maintain dominance in the global liquid natural gas (#LNG) market. But this approach poses serious risks, both for Japan and its regional partners in Southeast Asia. By promoting gas dependence in Southeast Asia, Japan is: ⚡ Prolonging its reliance on volatile LNG markets 💼 Threatening the economic stability of countries in the region 🌱 Undermining global climate goals and the G7’s commitment to ending fossil fuel financing Swipe through to explore why Japan’s strategy needs a rethink, and how its #G7 partners can help push for cleaner, more secure alternatives. Read our full blog co-authored by Yoko Mulholland (née Amano) and Richard Smith here: https://lnkd.in/eAqhwN-U

Good to see The Diplomat reporting on Japan's #LNG surplus problem and why its LNG buying is more to do with trading opportunities and influence in southeast #Asia than #energy security, which is the narrative it provides to the #Australian government, and Australia's #gas industry. The story refers to IEEFA Asia Pacific's research report on Japan's LNG surplus issue.

🏮 Japan has joined Europe in scrutinizing LNG producers' emissions, establishing its own dedicated organization for this purpose, the CLEAN coalition (Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement Toward Net Zero). Japan is a major LNG purchasing , development and transportation powerhouse, absorbing 25% of the world’s LNG production. Several major Japanese firms, including 22 utilities and trading houses, have come together to address methane emissions within LNG supply chains. Companies such as JERA, Mitsubishi, and Mitsui are collaborating with the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) to gather methane data from LNG projects. This initiative also aims to push LNG suppliers from the U.S. to Australia to reduce their emissions. Of the 20 LNG producers approached by CLEAN, only seven have provided emissions data so far.

As I've said before, it's been a masterstroke move by Japan, together with a front of Australian-based fossil fuel companies, to heavy Australia on it's climate and gas policies. Even though as reported here, Japan is just using our gas as a political tool of its own. And instead of responding to such interference with caution, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade joined in to help. They have been played like the naive unsophisticates that they are. And meanwhile, the Australian, US and Japanese-owned fossil fuel networks are openly lobbying South-East Asian nations to abandon their own national climate targets, while arguing in Australia it's not our domestic targets that matter but those overseas. And these are the same networks that DFAT is bending over backwards to assist. There is no economic benefit to Australia that is worth the global failure to deal with climate change for us. And DFAT should be leading that task of pushing every nation to do more, not undermining it. Here there has been at least thirty years of the fossil fuel interests undermining and diverting the nation's interest. But now any veneer of plausible deniability is now gone. The interests of Australia and fossil fuel interests couldn't be more disaligned.

Sam Reynolds and I wrote about how Japan's drive to maintain its relevance in LNG markets is undermining the net-zero ambitions of its utilities and potentially jeopardizing decarbonization goals throughout the continent. Abandoning LNG transaction targets and refocusing financing programs away from the gas value chain would enable utilities to play a more constructive role in deploying clean energy technologies both at home and abroad. If policymakers and companies continue to promote fossil fuels abroad, corporate strategies that aim to chart a path to net-zero will never arrive there. https://lnkd.in/gpZHeaFB

For Australian #gas policy watchers you should be wary about the narrative that #Australia needs to produce more #LNG for customers like #Japan, which has an agenda to lower gas use (by increasing #renewables and #nuclear), but increase gas purchases. By doing this, Japan becomes more of a gas trader and potential competitor to Australian gas exporters. read story below

Russian pipeline gas and LNG exports to Europe fell 2.5% month on month in August to 134mcm/day amid flagging regional demand and an uptick in shipments to Asia, preliminary industry data showed on Thursday. #Russia #gas #LNG #shipments #demand #EU #Asia

ANGEA CEO Paul Everingham reflects on his trip this month to the US, a visit that will include not only CERAWeek 2024 but also key stakeholder meetings in Washington DC around the LNG export approvals pause. "Our message will be quite simple. As an energy importing region, any reduction or restriction to future LNG supply from the US will put energy security and energy transition in Asia very much at risk." #lng #lngindustry #naturalgas #energysecurity #energytransition

Mitsubishi views Russia's Sakhalin LNG project as a crucial energy source for Japan, according to a report on XM's research section. This development underscores the strategic importance of the project in meeting Japan's energy needs. The Sakhalin LNG project is expected to play a significant role in enhancing Japan's energy security and diversifying its energy sources. #EnergySecurity #LNGInvestment