Current:Home > FinanceWorld’s Current Fossil Fuel Plans Will Shatter Paris Climate Limits, UN Warns -FutureWise Finance
World’s Current Fossil Fuel Plans Will Shatter Paris Climate Limits, UN Warns
Will Sage Astor View
Date:2025-04-10 15:54:59
The world’s top fossil fuel-producing nations are on track to extract enough oil, gas and coal to send global temperatures soaring past the goals of the Paris climate agreement, according to a United Nations report published Wednesday.
If countries follow through on their current plans, they will produce about 50 percent more fossil fuels by 2030 than would be compatible with the international goal of keeping global warming under 2 degrees Celsius, the report said.
They would blow past the more ambitious target of keeping warming under 1.5°C, the report found, with countries poised to produce twice as much oil, gas and coal by 2030 than would be allowable to meet that goal. A UN scientific report released last year laid out the risks that would bring, including worsening droughts, heat waves and extreme rainfall and accelerating sea level rise.
The Production Gap Report, which was written by a collection of research institutions and published by the UN Environment Program, warns that even as governments commit to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many continue to promote expanding fossil fuel production.
“The world is awash in fossil fuels,” the report says.
While renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, are increasingly competing with oil, gas and coal as their prices fall, “there is no guarantee that fossil fuels and their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will decline—let alone at the pace needed to avoid dangerous climate change,” the report says.
“The continued drive to increase fossil fuel production throughout the world only makes that harder,” it says.
In the United States, the world’s top oil and gas producer, the report says state and federal subsidies and other policies are a significant factor driving surging output.
The Trump administration has put fossil fuel development at the top of its agenda for the past three years. It has been rolling back policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, working to fast-track pipelines and drilling, and has started the process of pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.
The same day the UN report was released, the Trump administration put out its regulatory agenda for 2020, with plans for removing more obstacles to fossil fuel production.
Keeping Fossil Fuels in the Ground
This is the first time the UN Environment Program has examined how fossil fuel production is creating a drag on government efforts to reduce emissions. Even though fossil fuels account for 75 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, the report says climate policy discussions rarely discuss limiting production. The text of the Paris Agreement, for example, does not mention fossil fuels.
The Production Gap report is an attempt to change that by examining what policies countries are using to promote growth and suggesting ways for phasing out production. Its release comes before the annual UN climate summit next month and as nations are expected to update their pledges under the Paris Agreement next year.
It is consistent with aims of the “Keep it in the Ground” movement that has sought to prevent further climate damage by trying to block new pipelines, mines and other major infrastructure projects that would effectively lock in new emissions for decades to come. Several of the Democratic candidates for U.S. president have also supported reducing fossil fuel production by ending new coal, oil and gas leases on federal land.
Some critics of that movement, particularly energy companies, have argued that global climate policies ought to focus exclusively on limiting demand for fossil fuels—through carbon pricing, for example—and reducing emissions with technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide, rather than restricting production.
The report says that while these conventional approaches are important, they are insufficient. Global emissions have continued to rise, and the pledges governments have made as part of the Paris Agreement are not expected to reduce emissions enough to meet the goals of the pact.
“Over the past decade, the climate conversation has shifted. There’s greater recognition of the role that the unfettered expansion of fossil fuel production plays in undermining climate progress,” said Michael Lazarus, a lead author on the report and the director of Stockholm Environment Institute’s U.S. Center, in a statement.
“This report shows, for the first time, just how big the disconnect is between Paris temperature goals and countries’ plans and policies for coal, oil, and gas production,” he said.
One Big Problem: Subsidies
The authors examined policies in 10 leading fossil fuel producing nations—including the United States and Russia, but not the Arab oil-producing states, which didn’t have publicly available plans—and found a range of subsidies and tax incentives promoting greater development.
The report acknowledges there are formidable barriers to changing these policies. Beyond private interests with substantial political influence, many national and regional governments depend on revenue from fossil fuel production.
But the report suggests a number of ways governments can phase out this production, from ending subsidies and limiting permitting for new drilling and mining to more ambitious plans that transition their economies away from fossil fuels. The report notes that several nations, including France, Germany, Costa Rica and others, have taken some of these steps.
These actions could limit countries’ exposure to future financial risks, the report argues, by beginning to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels before demand drops. And if nations fail to take these steps, the report warns the results could be disastrous.
Absent “dramatic, unexpected” advances in the technology to remove carbon dioxide from smokestacks or directly from the air, the report warns “most of the world’s proven fossil fuel reserves must be left unburned.”
veryGood! (35)
Related
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- U.S. ambassador to Japan expresses regret over alleged sex assaults by military personnel in Okinawa
- Candidates in pivotal French legislative elections drop out in tactical move ahead of final vote
- Don't Wait! You Can Still Shop J.Crew Factory's Extra 70% off Sale with Deals Starting at $6
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Willie Nelson returned to the stage with Fourth of July Picnic following health concerns
- Tristan Thompson Shares Rare Photos of 7-Year-Old Son Prince
- Hugs, peace signs and a lot of 'Love': Inside the finale of The Beatles' Cirque show
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- Bachelorette’s Jenn Tran Caught Off Guard By “Big Penis” Comment During Premiere
Ranking
- Moving abroad can be expensive: These 5 countries will 'pay' you to move there
- United Airlines flight loses wheel after takeoff from Los Angeles and lands safely in Denver
- American man detained in France after So I raped you Facebook message can be extradited, court rules
- John Stamos' 6-year-old son Billy plays drums at Beach Boys concert
- Small twin
- Hugs, peace signs and a lot of 'Love': Inside the finale of The Beatles' Cirque show
- Emma Roberts Says She Lost Jobs Because of Her Famous Relatives
- Were the murders of California teens the work of a serial killer?
Recommendation
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
Paris Olympics 2024: USWNT soccer group and medal schedule
Kevin Durant sidelined by calf strain at Team USA Olympics basketball camp
MLB All-Star Game snubs: 10 players who deserve a spot in Midsummer Classic
Man can't find second winning lottery ticket, sues over $394 million jackpot, lawsuit says
Mare of Easttown Producer Gordon Gray's Daughter Charlotte Dies at 13 of Rare Neurodegenerative Disorder
Florida community mourns K-9 officer Archer: 'You got one last bad guy off the street'
All Ringo Starr wants for his 84th birthday is 'peace and love' — and a trippy two-tiered cake