Argumentative Essay

“The purpose of purchasing gas from Gazprom cannot excuse

the means, the real costs, and the negative impact on the
environment.”

IBS, Saxion University

EIB0V.EXCa: Ethics and Business
Teacher: John Cornelius

ENSCHEDE
2021

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 Energy resources are an indispensable part of an economy, of society as a
whole and even of every individual. Millions of tons of gas are produced and
consumed every day, which leads to annual CO2 emissions, in the US alone, in
2019 CO2 emissions from gas consumption exceeded 1.6 billion tons, but
worldwide this figure exceeds over 10 billion tons per year. Therefore, access
to the resource as a gas is a problem related to the ethical dilemma, which
distinguishes between the purpose of european countries, the use of this cheap
energy resource from the Russian giant company Gazprom, on the one hand,
and on the other hand, the real cost of purchasing this gas, namely greenhouse
gas emissions in Siberia and global warming. That is why the problem of
environmental pollution with CO2 following the acquisition and consumption
of gas is more than current and relevant, because on the one part european
countries buy this gas justifying the need for gas to meet the multitude of needs
such as heating buildings, obtaining energy, etc. And on the other part they take
little into account or simply neglect the following global catastrophic effects.
But before analyzing and writing about the catastrophic effects, we need to
look at the issue from a historical perspective. Over the years, people have
fought fiercely for control of natural resources, as resources have ensured a
better way of life and some security for the future. In our times things have not
changed radically, but the methods have changed, namely they have shifted
from fighting by force to economic fighting. European countries do not have
much of their own natural resources, which leads to the acquisition of resources,
so that the economy works completely. Thus, for economic reasons, most
European countries purchase gas from the State Company of the Russian
Federation under the name of Gazprom, because from their point of view it is
the cheapest, and the least polluting of other energy-intensive resources at the
moment. Also for strategic reasons, the EU imports gas, as natural gas accounts
for about a quarter of the European Union's total energy consumption, which is
a huge amount and also a danger in the event of supply chain disruptions. From
this transaction, it appears that both parties have an economic gain. In addition,
the president of Gazprom Miller said that the fastest way to reduce carbon
emissions in curopean countries is to convert from coal generation to natural
gas, and that gas is the most suitable and ecological resource during the
transition from oil to fully renewable resources. As a result, both parties are
satisfied with the acquisition and production of gas, because according to
Eurostat, EU countries import from Russian Federation over 41.1% of total
imported gas.

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At the same time there is not much talk about the impact that this gas has on the
environment, many politicians apologize saying it is the best option of all that is
bad. Governments tend to bow their heads, as they cannot provide a clear
answer and a better alternative, but pollution statistics show a completely
different picture, just as different credible sources investigating pollution
sources suggest that the state-owned gas giant company Gazprom is the second
largest source of greenhouse gases, which causes ocean acidification, among
global fossil fuel companies based on 2015 data. It ranks third among the top
energy companies in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, and it puts in second
place in overall greenhouse gas emissions, after Saudi Aramco. Moreover,
according to an article in the well-known Bloomberg news portal that was
published on 18 June 2021 shows a huge flow of methane that was observed by
the satellite came from the Gazprom pipeline. According to another 2019
article, a huge methane panel was detected over Russia, where 2.7 million cubic
meters of methane were released into the air following an accident, which has
about the same short-term impact on global warming of 40,000 internal
combustion engines in the US that have been driving for a year, according to the
Environmental Protection Fund. At the same time, Kayrros SAS, a geoanalytic
firm, estimated an emission rate of 395 metric tons per hour, which would make
Gazprom responsible for the most severe release it attributed to the oil and gas
sector in 2019. All this, but also many others, proves that Gazprom is
responsible for greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, but especially in Russia.
However, it is very difficult to calculate the real cost of acquiring gas, as this
activity has greatly damaged the nature of Siberia.
Unfortunately, not everyone takes into account the negative effects of air
pollution, but the worst is that pollution directly affects the lives of animals,
nature but especially humans. Satisfying economic needs, as well as access to
cheap resources such as gas, even if they are useful on the one hand but on the
other hand enormously damaging the entire planet and each individual. In my
opinion, this practice cannot be accepted because economic interests cannot
undermine social interests, especially in the long term. The dilemma that is
present in this problem is the fact that through the decisions of European
countries to buy gas, nature, people but also the whole environment suffers a
lot, especially in the Siberia region, where this gas is obtained. The authorities
should review their decisions so that not only economic factors are taken into
account, but all the pros and cons. So that the problem of environmental
pollution is a problem with long-term negative effects to be considered.

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 Finally, it can be seen that gas is a good and a necessary resource for human
activity, but at the same time this resource can seriously affect the entire planet.
F

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 References
Annual CO2 emission statistics following gas consumption, (2019)
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co2-gas?tab=chart

Reuters News, (6 oct. 2021) European gas crisis, importance, and strategic reserves
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/could-strategic-reserve-ease-europes-gas-crisis-2021-10-
06/

Gas forum, Miller speech, CEO’s Gazprom (6-8 oct.2021)

https://gas-forum.ru/en/novosti-foruma

Energy in EU, key partners, EU imports of natural gas (2019), statistics

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/infographs/energy/bloc-2c.html#carouselControls?lang=en

Largest sources of pollution, Energy Corporation, Gazprom pollution, (2015)

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/17/20-corporations-behind-the-most-ocean-
pollution/39552009/

Bloomberg news (18.06.2021) https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-06-18/gazprom-

admits-to-massive-methane-leaks

https://www.pipeline-journal.net/news/gazprom-accepts-responsibility-largest-known-methane-
gas-leak-2019

https://www.kayrros.com/methane-watch/

https://www.edf.org/about/our-sustainability-data#:~:text=EDF%20calculates%20total
%20emissions%20on,to%20the%20road%20in%202020.

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