After massive climate opinion: Preem scraps plans for expansion of oil refinery
It’s been one of the biggest climate debate in Sweden in recent years. Should Preem Lysekil be allowed to expand, it’s oil refinery or not.
Scientists and climate activists have been strongly against the project, and on Monday, Preem finally caved in.
”The re-prioritization is an important step in accelerating the transition from fossil fuel production to renewables,” says Magnus Heimburg, CEO of Preem.
The story began in 2016 when Preemraff Lysekil, Scandinavia’s biggest oil refinery, applied for a large expansion of its operations. This would include a facility to refine heavy fuel oil into diesel and gasoline.
Such an expansion would have increased carbon emissions in Sweden by one million tons annually, making Preem Lysekil the single largest carbon emitter in the country, and making it virtually impossible for Sweden to reach its climate goals.
Opinion against the project has been persistent and loud throughout the years. Almost all environmental organizations in Sweden united against the expansion of the refinery and eventually started spreading globally.
Greenpeace campaigned heavily against the project, and on September 10, the organization’s Rainbow Warrior blocked oil transports heading for the refinery on the Swedish west coast.
On the We Don't Have Time app Sara Ivarsson created a successful campaign where she targeted the Swedish Land and Environment Court of Appeal, and demanded it to try the Preemraff case. The campaign received a lot of attention, and eventually, the court decided to try the case.
In June this year, the Swedish Land and Environment Court of Appeal, unfortunately, approved the project, which in turn sent the final decision back to the government.
A specific date for the decision was never set, but the government was expected to announce its decision within the next few months.
Now it doesn’t have to.
During the years of juridical struggle, the economic outlook for the project started seeming less bright, and on Monday, September 28, Magnus Heimburg, CEO of Preem, made public that the company has withdrawn its application.
“The closure of ROCC is a necessary commercial decision based on an assessment of profitability and technical feasibility. In a situation where tough decisions have to be made, it is crucial for Preem to allocate resources to those projects that will accelerate our renewable production fastest and most cost-effectively, and I look forward to being leading of this major and important transition”, says Magnus Heimburg, newly appointed CEO of Preem in a statement on the company’s web site.
Climate scientists applaud the decision. During the Exponential Climate Action Summit just a few days ago, professor Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for climate impact, said:
”The situation is quite simple. We need to decarbonize the world economy in the next thirty years. Because the whole world now needs to move decisively towards decarbonizing every sector at every timestep, then, of course, there is no room for any massive investment in fossil-based infrastructure anywhere in the world.”
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