Does the EIA address the project’s climate impacts and any effect on industrialized countries’ efforts to reduce fossil fuel consumption?
There is growing concern about the role of public financial institutions in promoting fossil fuel extractive projects in developing countries undermining efforts to reduce greenhouse gas consumption and adhere to the Kyoto protocol. Oil is an internationally traded commodity and the markets have access to many different diverse sources of crude. The combustion of fossil fuels does result in the emission of greenhouse gases. The quantity of emissions is more a function of world-wide consumption patterns of oil, independent of a particular field utilization. The exploitation of the Caspian Sea reserves and their subsequent transport through BTC and use by other nations should be viewed in this context.
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for the pipeline project itself have been calculated and are published within the ESIA. GHG have not been calculated for the consumption of the oil transported through the pipeline. These emissions will occur independently of the BTC project. The Sponsors have also completed a detailed study to ensure that the emission of gases from BTC are minimized and that engineering design for the sources of such emissions are based on Best Practicable Environmental Options (BPEO). The approach applied for the calculations is consistent with the approach required for the Kyoto Protocol.
The BTC shareholder companies have recognized the need for evolution in the oil and gas industry, but the world’s steadily increasing demand for energy cannot yet be satisfied without the development of further oil and gas resources. Companies such as BP are already investing in renewables and see this as a key component of their future business regeneration, but these technologies are not yet capable of supplying large-scale energy demands economically or without creating other adverse effects.
