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Environmental transparency of global oil and gas companies
Published in Natalia Yakovleva, Edmund Nickless, Routledge Handbook of the Extractive Industries and Sustainable Development, 2022
Alexey Yu. Knizhnikov, Evgeny A. Shvarts, Alexander Pakhalov, Natalia Rozhkova, Madeline McCann
The activities of extractive industries (including the oil and gas industry) are associated with a significant negative impact on the environment and significant environmental risks (Gossen and Velichkina, 2006; Rocca and Viberti, 2013; Bucelli et al., 2018). It includes different kinds of oil spills (terrestrial pipelines leaks, freshwater river-crossing leaks, and oceanic deep-water oil, and gas drilling accidents and leaks), flavor oil gas and methane emissions, pipeline fragmentation effects, etc. Corporate ability to manage and decline those negative impacts can be properly evaluated through existence and public availability documentation on environmental impact assessment (EIA), oil spill contingency plan (in part of environmental impact), etc. Unsurprisingly, various stakeholders including investors, government agencies, local communities, and non-governmental organizations are asking for environmental responsibility and relevant environmental transparency of oil and gas companies (Bataeva, 2018; Abitbol et al., 2019). Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, comparative studies, and other independent monitoring tools are becoming important tools for assessing the level of environmental responsibility of those companies.
The changing role of minerals in society
Published in Sumit K. Lodhia, Mining and Sustainable Development, 2018
There are specific features of the non-renewable sector which make it a particular challenge for CSR and for environmental management and which also render it a particularly interesting arena for the analysis of CSR. Some of these features include the physically irreversible impact of many mining operations on topography, their potential for adversely affecting the environment, and more specifically the use of processes (for instance, river disposal of wastes) and inputs (for example, cyanide) that can quickly destroy ecosystems (see next section). They also include the large scale of modern operations relative to adjacent communities and their consequent tendency to generate major social impacts; and the cyclical nature of metal markets and the potential social disruption associated with downsizing and closure (Bridge, 2004; Hilson and Haselip, 2004; Rajaram et al., 2005). On the other hand extractive industries have the potential to create considerable wealth because of the economic rents they can generate, and may be able to fund social and economic development initiatives that few other industries could support (Mitchell, 2006; Richards, 2005). An additional point that render extractive industries a fruitful case for analyzing CSR is that in most cases they are exploiting publicly-owned (i.e., “social”) minerals which are a wasting asset, raising important questions regarding distribution of economic benefits both in the current period and across generations.
Interbasin Transfers of Water for Southern Africa
Published in Saeid Eslamian, Faezeh Eslamian, Handbook of Drought and Water Scarcity, 2017
According to Earle, in Southern Africa, the key issues causing hydropolitical vulnerability include[8] the following:Natural climatic variability—naturally variable rainfall patterns with frequent periods of floods and drought.The construction of large dams and associated interbasin transfers (IBT)—largely as a response to the previous point, in order to mitigate the impact of the natural climatic variability.Population dynamics in the region—growth or decline in population size affecting the water needs of the region.Economic priorities—African economies tend to emphasize resource-extractive industries such as mining and forestry (Figure 24.4). These extractive industries, if not well managed, tend to affect surrounding ecosystems negatively. At the same time, environmental legislation covering emissions into the atmosphere, soil, and water is generally either not in place or, if it is in place, frequently not implemented.Social resources—these encompass factors such as institutional development, economic wealth, and systems of government, laws, and legislation and the education level of the population (Figure 24.4).
The anti-dam movement in Brazil: expertise and design conflicts in an industrial transition movement
Published in Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society, 2018
But the broader question of the design of Brazil’s energy mix and energy future also involves the connection between electricity demand and extractive industries (aluminum and metal alloys) and agriculture, and here one enters into the fourth level of design conflicts involving the desirable mix of industries in the economy. The country has absorbed long-term economic, ecological, and social externalities in exchange for short-term export earnings that generate minimal employment from extractive industries and agriculture (Fearnside 2006, 2016). The entire energy system requires a thoughtful transition policy that includes much more investment in energy efficiency, the development of solar and wind energy, and a reordering of the prioritization of some industrial sectors.