Channels, Fall 2018

Page 98 Thompson • Seeing Green fourteenth major producer at 2 million barrels of oil per day. There exist many environmental problems with all stages of oil production, but of particular concern are oil spills, which can contaminate and destroy large sections of the natural environment. Biomass and hydro and solar energy have all recently grown in importance as renewable sources of clean energy. Brazil especially has farmed sugar cane for ethanol production as a means to reduce carbon and GHG emissions (McElroy, 2010). Closely related with the discussion of energy in our world today are the large industries and corporations that discover and transform the previously mentioned resources into usable energy for consumption by individuals. These companies exist throughout the world and are most readily identified by their presence at gas stations. Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil, BP and the earlier mentioned Petrobras are amongst the largest gas and oil companies that sell their refined products to local consumers and vehicle owners. These oil and gas companies are either independently owned or controlled by the government and referred to as National Oil Companies (NOCs). In fact, twenty-seven out of the fifty largest oil and gas companies are owned by national governments (Vavilov, 2015). One of the first NOCs was the Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales in Argentina in the 1920s. It was not until fifty years later, however, when a large number of NOCs were formed during an era of global nationalism (McPherson, 2003). Today, many NOCs still exist to some degree or another as governments seek energy security. Even more pertinent to the discussion of energy and the state is the environment and concern of climate change. The United Nations (UN) has enacted various agreements and conventions to protect the environment and combat rising global temperatures. This research seeks to examine the relation between NOCs, the state government and environmental protection. Specifically, to discover an answer to the question: How does the policy and interaction between the state government and the NOCs affect sustainable development of the preservation of the environment using the case studies of Gazprom and Petrobras? The paper concludes that protection of the natural environment is an area of lesser importance to more predominant state goals of energy independence and the foreign policy agendas of legitimizing and transmitting or leveraging the state’s energy capabilities towards others. This research paper will first compare relevant contemporary scholarship. Various levels of analysis will be identified, concerning the importance and interaction of various actors on the policy of NOCs towards the environment. Following the literature review, the methodology of comparison of the two NOCs, Gazprom and Petrobras, is laid out in detail. A triangulation method for a qualitative study including data from the UNFCCC, a document analysis of New York Times newspapers, and a comparison of Russia and Brazil’s energy strategy are all used to identify various aspects of the relation between each NOC, its national government, and environmental policy. Next, a brief case background and overview of Russia and Brazil, their governments, and Gazprom and Petrobras will be covered to provide relevant context and understanding to the specific research analysis. Subsequently, the analysis and comparison of each methodology will be evaluated as the results are noted. Finally, in the conclusion a summary of the research study will be provided with an emphasis on the implications of this research, the limitations of the paper, and future areas of study.